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AUTHOR Kral, Thomas, Ed. TITLE The Lighter Side of TEFL: A Teacher's Resource Book of Fun Activities for Students of English as a Foreign Language. INSTITUTION United States Information Agency, Washington, DC. English Language Programs Div. PUB DATE 1994-04-00 NOTE 143p. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Class Activities; *English (Second Language); *Figurative Language; *Folk Culture; *Games; *Humor; Idioms; Instructional Materials; Language Skills; Poetry; Puzzles; Second Language Instruction; Short Stories; Skill Development IDENTIFIERS Jokes; Limericks; Riddles
ABSTRACT The guide provides teachers of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with classroom instructional activities that reinforce vocabulary or teach specific language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) while demonstrating that communicating in English can be fun. The activities are brief and self-contained, and an audiotape cassette (not included) is designed for use with the last four sections of the book. Each section focuses on a different type of activity: word games; crossword puzzles; idioms; limericks; jokes and riddles; puzzle stories; shaggy dog stories; and folk wisdom. An answer key is also included.(MSE)
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0 II I
A Teacher's Resource Book of Fun Activities for Students of English as a Foreign Language
Edited by Thomas Kral The Lighter Side of TEFL
Published by the Materials Development and Review Branch English Language Programs Division United States Information Agency Washington, D.C. 20547
First published April 1994
Editor: Thomas Kral Layout and Design: Cynthia Malecki Cover Art: Guy Schum g:.
4 Dedicated to Anne Covell Newton
"A little of this and a little of that (A balanced mixture of lean and fat) Adds spice to the pudding; it cannot hurt, And it brings to the reader his just dessert. "*
From the first Lighter Side Page published in the English Teaching Forum, January 1976 The Lighter Side of TEFL is a collection of activities taken from the English Teaching Forum 1976 to the present. They have been regrouped and arranged into new categories to facilitate teacher use.
As the title of the text implies, The Lighter Side of TEFL exposes students to humor- ous aspects of American English to create a cheerful classroom atmosphere and a positive orientation to the language. Many of the activities reinforce vocabulary or give students practice in listening, thinking, speaking and writing, but the underly- ing goal of all activities is to produce a smile and an awareness that communicating in English has a lighter side and a potential for fun. The activities are short and self-contained, and they may be good for starting off or ending a class hour. Because humor is something to be shared, the activities should be done in pairs or small groups and then discussed with the class as a whole. An answer key to the exercises is found at the end of the book. The book is a handbook for teachers. They may choose to reproduce individual pages for occasional use in their classes or as group homework assignments. The book is not meant as a textbook for EFL students to be completed from cover to cover during a term of study. The accompanying cassette is to be used with the last four sections of the book that are dedicated to listening comprehension activities and discussion. Collectively, the recorded sections provide learners with a variety of different speakers representing a cross section of American dialects.
As editor, my task has been to select, classify and contextualize the different activities that appeared in the English Teaching Forum over the last seventeen years. For the most part, the puzzles and games were created by Anne Covell Newton who edited the magazine and to whom this book is dedicated. Anne has consistently been an advocate of bringing humor and wit into the classroom. We both hope this text will lighten up the EFL learning process and heighten the joy of both teaching and learn- ing the language.
Thomas Kral section I word games Cn,gMI)
I 1 2 3 4 S 6
s-ction 2 8 9 crossword puzzles 10 12 13 14 15
17
18 19 20
2 22
23
section 3 idioms O
3section 4 limericks
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WHY Dm A MOTHER KANGAROO section 5 HATE RAIN? BECAUSE ME/4, CHILDREN / jokes and riddles HAVE To PLAY INSIDE. / //,/ 4.1//4////
103section 6 puzzle stories
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109section 7 shaggy dog stories
119section 8 folk wisdom MiaMfaltrk)lrirs' LIU WIMPRITUNkLP LIMMI WAWA/
1 25answer key section 1
Vocabulary can be reinforced by using a variety of game formats. Focus may be placed upon word building, spelling, meaning, sound/symbol correspon- dences, and words inferred from sentence context.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. The full communicative potential of these games can be real- ized through good spirited team competition. Working in pairs or in small groups, students try to be the first to correctly complete a task.
These games can be used at the end of a lesson or before introducing new material as a "change of pace" activity. Teachers should allow sufficient time for class discussion after the game has been completed. 2 __letterdower
Addaletter A. From each word below, make two new words by adding a letter (1) at the end; (2) at the beginning.
1. go 4. hear go hear
2. oil 5.hat _oil hat
3. arm 6.not arm not
B. Form new words as in A (above). In addition, form a third word by adding a letter at the beginning and the end of the word.
1. ever 7. at ever at ever at
2. car 8. he car he car _he_
3. eight 9. an eight an eight an
4. in 10. all in all _in_ all
5. on 11. ear on ear _on_ _ear__
6. pin 12. can pin can pin _can_ 10 Change the first letter
Make one word into another by changing the first letter. EXAMPLE: Change a possessive pronoun to not sweet. ANSWER: your, sour
1.Change a past tense of BE to an adverb of place.
2.Change an adjective meaning not high to an adverb meaning at the present time.
3.Change a period of time to a term of affection.
4.Change was seated to have a meal.
5.Change a part of the head to international strife.
6.Change a respectful title to atmosphere.
7.Change to learn thoroughly to not as slow.
8.Change very warm to a negative adverb.
9.Change a motor vehicle to not near.
10.Change a man's title to a female relative.
11 4 A T-party
Put T before a word to form a new word. EXAMPLE: Add a T to a firearm and get a thing of little value. ANSWER: rifle, trifle
1.Add T to at this place, and get at that place.
2.Add T to a covering for the head, and get a demonstrative adjective.
3.Add T to tear, and get a journey.
4.Add T to a possessive pronoun, and get a demonstrative adjective.
5. Add T to a part of the head, and get to pull apart.
6.Add T to of great age, and get narrated.
7.Add T to a mistake, and get great fear.
8.Add T to the entire amount, and get of great height.
9.Add T to a shower from the sky, and get to teach.
10.Add T to a kind of vase, and get to rotate.
Change a letter
Each picture illustrates a common word. Change one letter of each word to produce the name of an animal.
EXAMPLE: ax ox
1 3
6 r 7 1 r Z2.
12 Change the last letter
Make one word into another by changing the last letter. EXAMPLE: Change a color to a welcome. ANSWER: green, greet
1. Change a monarch to an adjective describing a good quality.
2.Change a negative to the present time.
3.Change a female horse to a stain or blemish.
4.Change alarm or worry to a notable achievement.
5.Change a reading process to a short dramatic act.
6.Change a person who lacks good judgment to something to eat.
7.Change a unit of weight to a color.
8.Change a part of a plant to a hole or a crack.
9.Change the top or summit of a mountain to a fruit.
10. Change a woman servant to what is delivered by the postal service.
13 hidden Words Animals in hiding
Find the animals hiding in the following sentences. EXAMPLE Close the door at once! (rat)
1.That will be a real help. %.\ 2.She came late every day.
3.He came to America today.
4.Eric owes me ten cents. 5. We made errors in each one.
6.Do good workers succeed?
7.If I shout, he'll hear me.
8.If Roger comes, we'll begin. 9. We will go at two o'clock.
10.Is it the sixth or seventh?
11.In April I only came once.
12.I'll sing; you hum on key.
13.I made a Xerox copy of it.
14. She clothes naked babies.
15.At last, I, Gerald, had won.
16.Was Pilar mad, ill, or glad?
17.That man ate eleven cookies.
18.Your comb is on the table.
19.We're sending only one book. 20.He regrets having said that.
21.If Al concentrates, he'll win. 22. When I withdrew, Al rushed in. 23.He called Mikko a lazy boy.
24.It's only a kilometer away. 14 Hidden colors Find the name of a color hidden in each sentence: (The first one has been done as a sample.)
1.Some parts of the face are the eye, eyebrow, nose, and mouth.
2.I'm not really dumb; lack of sleep made me forget the answers.
3.If I tell you what she said, will you agree never to tell anyone?
4.In the box we found a pencil, a pin, keys, and a few coins.
5.Are three zeros enough to write the number one thousand?
6.The wheelbarrow hit eleven rocks as it rolled down the hill.
7. When the nurse gives you the injection, just yell "Ow" if it hurts.
8.Elsa and Otto ran gently down the path to the river.
9.Before arriving at Kuala Lumpur, please fill out these forms.
10.I play nearly all the stringed instruments: violin, cello, bass viol, etc.
11.When I opened the window, shining rays of sunlight flooded the room.
12.We'll go in Jim's car. Let's leave at six o'clock.
15 A numbers game: seen and heard
I. Each of the sentences below contains a hidden number. It may be wholly within a word or may go across two or more words. In each case the spelling is exactly the same as the written form of the number, although the pronunciation may be different.
EXAMPLE: If I've said something to hurt you, I'm sorry. (five)
A. Listen carefully to the dialogue on the tape recording.
B. It would be better to learn the language thoroughly.
C. When the plane took off, I very much wanted to cry.
D. We thought that was the best year of our lives.,
E. Now their team is even with ours.
E "Honesty is the best policy" is a well-known maxim.
G. The papers I xeroxed didn't turn out very well.
H.The words were spoken in each of the languages native to those present.
I. Paul is going to leave today; Robert went yesterday.
J. You replaced the thous and thees of English several centuries ago.
K. I hope that our efforts to rectify the error will comfort you a little.
L. Her remarks about the silent way made Caleb ill; I on the other hand, thought the points were well taken. M.I wish I could have been present at this event you are telling us about.
16 9
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (0) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
II. The numbers hidden in the following sentences may be heard but not seen. That is, the sound or pronunciation of the number is present, but not the spelling.
EXAMPLE: We found Janet well versed on the subject. (twelve)
A. John is now working as a tutor of English.
B. He answered before I could even finish the question.
C. Mary ate the whole pizza all by herself!
D. We all breathed a sigh of relief when our team finally won the game.
E. Even I know better than that!
F. Turn the radio off if teenagers come into the house.
G. We both respect your judgment very much.
H.Robert ended his speech on a strong note.
I. The zookeeper moved the sick seals to a different cage.
J. The baker added leaven and some water to the bread dough.
17 Hidden cities
Each sentence below contains the name of a capital city. Identify each city and write the name of the country in which the city is located on the line provided after each sentence. Created by M. A. El-Moneeb, Saudi Arabia
EXAMPLE: Well, I'm afraid I can't do it. PERU
1. Here is the draft of your letter. If you mark it "ok," your secretary will type it.
2.Those who were against the war saw to it that their voices were heard.
3.To make underground water potable, scientists first used ammonia, then sand later on.
4.Can karate movies really make children aggressive?
5.No slot machine is needed here.
6.The idiom "on a par" is used to mean "equal."
7.You can see our colleague in the CAI room at lunch. He is always busy doing something there.
8.Housekeepers usually prefer washing to not doing anything at all.
9. A cobra battle against a mongoose often ends with the defeat of the former.
10.If you use this kind of herb on noodles, the result will be fantastic.
11.Tram manufacturing is declining, as nobody needs this kind of slow transportation.
12.If you have an infection in your colon, don't eat fats or any other rich food.
PrarITIL mil ;;;;;1111111111;;;;; 11111 18 11 Word uilding The following activities build upon a common base of letters to create new words. The"ANT" family
What kind of an ant works with figures? An accountANT. Get it? Now what kind of an ant:
1.Lives in the jungle?
2.Is far away?
3.Is extraordinarily large?
4.Works for a master?
5.Is good-natured?
6.Is unchanging?
7.Is luxurious?
8.Is one who takes part?
9.Is a very small child?
10.Is sleeping?
11.Is very bright?
12.Is empty?
13.Is immediate?
14.Is plentiful?
15.Has moved to a different country?
16.Is meaningful?
17,Is something that grows?
18.Has influence over others?
19.Is unsure and indecisive?
20.Lives in a certain place?
19 I An artful puzzle
Each answer to the clues below ends in the letters -art. How many can you get?
1. A portion of the whole
2. A navigator's map
3.To make a beginning
4.Clever; intelligent
5.Seat of the emotions; part of the body
6.To leave; go away
7.A two-wheeled horse drawn vehicle
8.To pass on information; communicate knowledge
9. A fruit-filled pastry
10.To frustrate; oppose and defeat a plan
11. One who boasts
12.The sum of two pints Four letters in common The answer to each of the definitions below is a five-letter word. Each of these words ends in the same four letters, but has a different first letter. What are they?
1. Power
2. Vision
3. Opposite of loose
4. Not dark
5. Opposite of wrong
6. Not day
7. Contend, struggle
8. The number of this clue 20 13 Do you know these cities? (Adapted from H. A. Dayananda, Sri Lanka, Forum, April, 1986) Use the definitions to identify the words ending in city. The first letter of each word is given as an additional clue.
1.V CITY speed
2.S CITY plainness; lacking anything fancy
3.E CITY generates power 4. A CITY boldness; rudeness
5.D CITY deception; lying behavior
6.F CITY fierceness
7.S CITY an insufficient amount
8.C CITY ability to hold or contain
9. S CITY wisdom
10. E CITY A rubber band has this quality
11. F CITY bliss; happiness
12. T CITY persistence; quality of holding on to one's views
13. E CITY group membership defined by one's national, cultural, religious or linguistic background
14.V CITY truthfulness
15. E CITY being centered upon oneself
16. R CITY a complementary relationship often regarding trade and law
17. C CITY involvement in a crime
18 D CITY being devoted to home and family life
19.P CITY information to attract attention 20.P CITY combative nature; fighting attitude
21 U4 Simple arithmetic: ? + 1= X
Add one or more letters before the word one to get the word defined.
1. ? + one = something that holds ice cream
2.? + one = part of a skeleton
3.? + one = no longer here
4.? + one = accomplished; finished
5.? + one = without anyone else present
6.? + one = a musical sound
7.? + one = a rock
8.? + one = a geographical region or area
9.? + one = an identical copy
10.? + one = a chair for a king or queen
11.? + one = a windstorm; tornado
12. ? + one = an instrument for talking to someone far away.
13. ? + one = nobody
14. ? + one = not any
15. ? + one = two
DID YOU SEE THE PLANT IN THE 11-1s GRowING- A LGEBRA 'TEACHER ROOMif SQUARE bid C. itoorS WHAT- ABOUT- Tr. 4e (
41111111.01. 22 15 A perfect ten puzzle
The word ten can be found in all the answers except one (and that has already been provided for you). Each of the words defined begins at the corresponding number of the diagram; it may end at or after the following number. That is, each of the words overlaps with one or more letters of the following word.
E it E N N E N I N T E
2 T
17 3 E N T
8 N INIE 2T E
E N T N I E I7TINIE IT 6 T
¶6 NIE N I I
1. n. something contained; the substance or matter of a written work or an object; adj. satisfied 2.part of a plant that curls around any nearby support 3.be attentive; try to hear 4.not fully worked out or developed; done as a trial; hesitant, uncertain 5.to make longer; stretch forth; enlarge 6. a relaxation of strained relations or tensions as between nations (an English word borrowed from French) 7.a game for two or four players who use rackets to hit a ball back and forth across a net on a level court 8. to make or become less hard; to weaken or make pliant 9. adj. tightly stretched or strained; n. a verb form that expresses distinctions of time 10. a grammatically self-contained speech unit consisting of a word or syntactically related group of words usually containing a subject and a predicate 11. far-reaching; covering a large area 12. to reveal truths to; to free from ignorance; to inform 13. the language taught by readers of this text 14. hurry; move swiftly; be quick 15. a person who pays rent for the use of land, a house, etc. 16. one of a pair of jointed sense organs on the head of an insect, crab, lobster, etc.; a feeler 17. to be present at; to accompany; to listen, pay heed to; to wait on, give care to 23 ,,, rWil 1 1 ik Words!Within Wv/ords Teacher How many English words can you make by combining the letters in the word TEACHER? Rules: Letters may be combined in any order, but a letter may be used only as many times as it occurs in the word TEACHER. Proper names and abbreviations are not permitted. Maine How many words can you make from the word MAINE, the northeasternmost state in the United States. Clues: 1.Nickname for Mother 9.a form of to be 2.principal; chief 10.indefinite article
3.belonging to me 11.purpose; objective 4.male person 12.preposition
5.cruel; average; signify 13.myself (as subject) 6.grown-up boys 14.contraction for I am
7.hair on a horse's or lion's neck 15.what you are called 8.myself (as object)
INE
24 1 7
Tools How many words can you make out of the word TOOLS? Can you find: a preposition
a word meaning "also" a word meaning "implement" the capital of Norway
British slang for lavatory
goods taken away unlawfully
a poetic word meaning "look"
a plot of ground very much a word meaning "that cannot be found"
a song sung by one person
therefore chimney dirt a drunk a name for the sun
a small narrow opening something to sit on
25 (0) I41)
Ninepins
Can you knock down, one at a time, each of the bowling pins in therow above, so that the remaining letters always spell an English word? HINT: Begin by taking out the second "T." That will leave theword starling, which is the name of a bird. (The remaining wordsare easier and more familiar.)
SHRINKINGWORDS
The object of this game is to make each word shorter by takingaway one letter at a time (keeping the remaining letters in their original order) to forma new word. Do this as many times as you can, each time forming a new word as a letter is deleted. EXAMPLE: FORUM, FORM, FOR, OR
1. PLATE 6. CHASTE 11. BEREFT
2. STAND 7. THINK 12. FRIEND
3. WAIST 8. PAINT 13. SHINGLE
4. STOOP 9. BOUNCE 14. DINNER
5. SNORE 10. BOARD 15. RELATE 26 19 kAi Word Magic Westward ho! Change one word into another in steps by changing one letter at each step to make a new word. EXAMPLE: Change EAT to HOT in 2 steps: EAT HAT HOT
1. Change ROPE to RIDE 6. Change MEAT to STEW in 2 steps in 6 steps: ROPE MEAT
RIDE
2. Change ROPE to MULE in 3 steps: ROPE STEW 7. Put FOOT into SHOE in 3 steps: MULE FOOT 3. Change ROPE to LIFE in 4 steps: SHOE ROPE
LIFE
4. Change FLOUR to BREAD in 6 steps: FLOUR
BREAD
5. Go from EAST to WEST in 3 steps: EAST
WEST 27 20 cherry Using the clues provided, go from the first word to the last word by addinga letter at each step to form
the intervening words. ,
From nothing to a precious metal in 3 steps: 1. Nothing 2. Move; progress 3. Deity 4. Precious metal
From one to a bridge in 3 steps: 1. One (article) 2. One (article) 3. Cooking utensil 4. Bridge
From myself to a span in 5 steps: 1. Myself 2. I would (contraction) 3. To free or do away with (something undesirable) 4. To sit on and be carried along 5. A woman just married or about to be married 6. A span
An alternate route: 1. Myself 2. Prefix meaning two 3. Command or ask 4. Stay, continue; wait; reside 5. A woman just married or about to be married 6. Span
---...... oviiiiiiiIIII
28 21
Bird watch By changing one letter at a time, change BIRD to LARK and BIRD to DOVE (definitions are provided for each transitional word).
BIRD to tie or fasten; to bandage people who play music together a place where money is kept for safekeeping cry of a dog; outer covering of a tree LARK
BIRD poet; Shakespeare naked to make weary by being uninteresting part of the skeleton finished; accomplished (past part.) DOVE
23 22 double challenge A pale pachyderm puzzle
Fill in the spaces to make words that fit the definitions. The circled letters fromtop to bottom will spell out a two-word idiom that means rare and expensive possessions that are burdensome to maintain.
1. Somewhat hot O 2. Partial darkness produced by a shelter from the sun O 3. Tracks that trains go on O 4. Give ear to; pay attention 0 5. A piece of furniture consisting of a smooth flat surface O resting on four legs
6. A fast train that does not stop at intermediate points 7. Near 8. Large woody plants that provide shade O 9. Not complicated; easy O 10. Something, no matter what; whatever thing 0 11. High parts of the earth's surface
12. A stopping place on a railroad line; depot
13. A discussion in which there is disagreement
14. Structures with walls and a roof
30 23 A four footed puzzle If you correctly fill in the blanks with each of the four-letter words defined below, the initial letters (left- hand vertical column) will spell the name of an animal, and the final letters (right-hand vertical column) will spell an adjective that describes that animal.
1. 1. Small hoofed farm animal
2. 2. Thought; concept
3. 3. Existing; not fictitious
4. 4. A friend (two words, colloquial)
5. 5. Front part of the head
6. 6. Suits; matches in size
7. 7. Opposite of entrance
Middle riddle Identify each of the pictures below. In the space beneath each picture write the middle letter of each word. For example, the first picture is an apple and the middle letter is P. When finished, the Middle Riddle will reveal an important thing that you can do to help the environment.
p
31 24
A national symbol Fill in the spaces to make words that fit the definitions. The circled letters from top to bottom will spell out the name of one of the national symbols of the United States of America. 1. Something that flies 0 2. A place to play or relax in 0 3. American currency 0 4. A valuable mineral --0 5. Big; large 0 6. The world of living things 7. A busy road 0 8. A symbol 0 9. A low area of land 0
32 25 Sound/Symbol Surprises
"FISHY"Spelling
1. Considering the pronunciation of laugh, women, and nation, how would you pronounce GHOTI
2. Considering the pronunciation of Thomas (or thyme), weigh, school, glamour, and handsome (or handkerchief), what English word might be spelled THEIGHCHOUND
3. Considering the pronunciation of said, pneumonia, of action, belle, dough, and shepherd, what English word might be spelled AIPNFOLLEOUGHPH
The poem below is full of sound/symbol surprises in English.
I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? Some falter, (but I think not you) On hiccough; thorough, tough and through. Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word, That looks like beard and sounds like bird. And dead; It's said like bed not bead For goodness sake, don't call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and threat They rhyme with suite and straight and debt. A moth is not the moth in mother Nor both in bother, broth in brother; And here is not a match for there, Nor dear and fear for bear and pear And then there's dose and rose and lose; Just look these up, with goose and choose. Now, cork and work; and card and ward; And font and front; and word and sword; And do and go; and thwart and cart Come, come, I've hardly made a start! A dreadful language? Sakes alive! I'd mastered it when I was five! Anonymous 33 PE
" WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, to fecure the bleflings of liberty to ourselves and our pofterity, do ordain and eflaBIA thiscon- ftitution for the United States of America." s-fwords There was a time when the English "s" was written like an "f," as shown in the above excerpt from The Federalist, a series of newspaper essays published between the years 1787 and 1788 to urge ratification of the U.S. Constitution. If the words defined below were written in that 18th century style, you might confuse the two words in each pair. What are they? EXAMPLE: Moral faultPart of a fish = SinFin 1. A starA good time 2. IdenticalReputation, renown 3. NoiseDiscovered 4. Half a dozenRepair 5. Rest on a chairBe appropriate, suitable 6. VisionContend, struggle 7. What a plant grows fromNourish 8. Was on a chairNot thin 9. Offer a product for moneyPast tense of fall 10. Make a boat go in the windBe unsuccessful 11. Something to sit onAn exploit or deed 12. Cleverly deceitfulSoar on wings
34 Slight flight s/fgame
In colonial America, one form of the letter s used in writing and printing was a "long s":f, which looked very much like the letter f If the long s were used in writing the words defined in the left-hand column (all of which begin with s), each of those words would look like a word defined in the right-hand column, (all of which begin with f). How many of the s-f "minimal pairs" can you match up together?
EXAMPLE: 1k (slightflight) 1. Small in amount; not important a. To nourish; give food to 2. A number b. Big; thick; fleshy; full of oil 3. An important part of a wind-driven boat c. To repair 4. A noise; healthy d. To move through the air by using wings, or in an airplane 5. Vision e. To be the right size; to be suitable 6. Identical; alike f. To not succeed 7. To take a seat g. Did battle with 8. Took a seat; was seated h. Amusement; lively play or joking; a happy time 9. The hot, bright star around which the i. Discovered earth revolves j. Great reputation; the condition of being 10. The part of a plant that can be sown well known to grow into a new plant; kernel origin k. The act of flying 11. Tricky; able to fool others 1. Battle 12. Tried to find; looked for
35 2E3
Fauna sauna s/fgame Here is a more advanced version of the s/f game. EXAMPLE: ClueA steam bath for animals. ANSWER: Fauna sauna 1. A foolish horse 2. An unhappy trend 3. A black legend 4. A light-headed holy person 5. A light-shoe tosser 6. A tricky winged insect 7. Quick-moving icy rain 8. Opposite of the lost chord 9. A knighted evergreen tree 10. A thin strip of wood without humps 11. A trickier aviator 12. Not a fast stream
36 29 graphictnglish Mindover matter
Using the position and arrangement of the letters and words in each box find the English word or phrase the picture represents.
MIND R R E D MATTE IS D
e 3 3 s
Cc. CC_ Nrk A Y s NE OLE _ k c A
7e r- ap 4
3 7 Cornerstone Using the position and arrangement of the letters and word in each box, find the English word or phrase the picture represents. The first one has been done as an example.
STAND lEAR `MAR WORKING- "'A TIME
CORNERSTONE
F A S S r AOT TIME TIME D H tr\IC L E
JT A ROAD D
0 3 B.A. ICE H. A. N
38 31 More examples of graphic English What word or phrase is suggested by each of the pictures?
k )Y0 p we kome
.f Oil En,9 I I 6)
a 4h ooh t r
Po
SPEED speed.-
contributed by Omar Dahnin, Saudi Arabia Shapes and meanings Here are some words that are arranged so that the shape of the word suggests the meaning. Can you think of any others? i solate sloop
fl!p
brink deaar 33 32 WordShapes Pyramids and diamonds Each word in the pyramid is formed by adding a letter to the word above it, and rearranging the letters if necessary. In the twin pyramids, the words opposite each other are formed from the same letters. In the bottom half of the diamond, each word is formed by subtracting a letter from the word above it (and rearranging the letters if necessary).
simple pyramid twin pyramids
1. Article 1. 1st person 1. Roman numerals for 1 2. Near; by 2. 3rd person (thing) 2. Note of scale between la and do 3. Rested on a chair 3. Rest on a chair 3. Contraction of it is 4. Heavenly bogy 4. Bonds; unites 4. Place; location 5. Paper or plastic tube for drinking 5. Inflatable coverings for wheels 5. Attempts 6. One who doesn't conserve 6. Female relative 6. Withstand; exert oneself against 7. Pullover; article of clothing 7. Fights or defends oneself against 7. Women having the same parents
diamond
1. Ninth letter of the alphabet 2. 3.1416 3. Pastry 4. Mature 5. Steeple 6. Religious official 7. Having long narrow bands of contrasting color 8. Spirit; ghost, fairy 9. Long, narrow piece of material 10. Journey 11. Hole in the ground 12. That thing 13. Myself
40 Word diamonds Add or take away a letter to make the next word in each of the diamonds above. The answers correspond to the clues below.
1J
/L . 7-72
Me Nothing 1st letter 2nd letter 3.1416 Conjunction Indefinite article Exist A short, sharp piece of Source of metal Went fast Risk money on a result metal for-fastening Painful Water,fro-ni the sky Most good A hurtincir suffering Bcac:11 Means of transportation Animal Liquid colonng substance Footwear Make great:efforts O p`p site west Liquid measure (1/2 quart) That,woman// Discolor in a lasting way ; Dine Hole in the ground Thit man Man's nickname Preposition That thing 8th letter Light brown Indefinite article 1st person Alternative to "a" Indefinite article 41 34 Word triangle
The two letters that form the first word defined beloware repeated somewhere in each of the other answers.
1. Exist
2. Insect that makes honey 3. 3-dimensional square 4 Swedish peace prize 5. Someone who cuts hair 6. Tenth month 7. Stole from 8. Serious; not drunk 9. Large hairy animal 10. Furniture for sleeping 11. British English (abbr.)
Word circles
Add the missing letter and get a word by starting at the right place and going around thecircle.
1. C 2. M 3. E H A E E C P
E lil M R T
R T . R E E S E D
A D 4. 5. G M E A
N G
E I N R T A
42 SE Word chain
Make a word chain by writing in the links the letters of the 14 words defined by the clues. (Begin at the top and move clockwise around the circle.) Each word overlaps with the next word; that is, the final two letters of each word are the first two letters of the following word. (The number of letters in each word is shown in parentheses after each clue.)
3. Body of water (3) 4. Every (4) 5. Part of the face (4) 6. Within (6) 7. Not alive (4)
10. Rip (4) 11. Stop (6) 12. Cease (4) 13. Musical drama (5) 14. Went fast (3)
43 3S
r--1 t_ ../oded g_ivanguage A code message Can you "translate" this letter-code message into English words, making a four-line verse? YYUR YYUB ICUR YY4ME The empty cupboard You may know the following nursery rhyme: Old Mother Hubbard Went to the cupboard To get her poor dog a bone. When she got there The cupboard was bare And so her poor dog had none. But what we are not told is that when she opened the cupboard door, Mrs. Hubbard exclaimed: OICURMT! Can you tell the meaning of what she said? (Hint: It is six words.)
Letter play 1. What two letters express the meaning "not difficult"?
2. What two letters mean the opposite of "full"?
3. What two letters spell a number?
4. What two letters spell a word meaning "some"?
5. What two letters mean a kind of short composition?
6. What two letters mean "very cold"?
7. What two letters mean the opposite of "causes" (noun)?
8. What letter and number mean "ahead of" or "in front of"?
9. What number and letter spell a popular outdoor game?
10. What number and letter mean "anticipate"? 44 Fun with states: synonyms The word puzzle below depends on the abbreviations for state names. The abbreviations given here are ones that are frequently used (there are others); they are given in alphabetical order of the state's names: Ala. Hawaii Mass. N.M S.D. Alas. Idaho Mich. N.Y. Tenn. Ariz. Ill. Minn. N.C. Tex. Ark. Ind. Miss. N.D. Utah Calif. Ia. Mo. Ohio Vt. Colo. Kans. Mont. Okla. Va. Conn. Ky. Nebr. Ore. Wash. Del. La. Nex. Pa. W. Va. Fla. Me. N.H. R.I. Wis. Ga. Md. N.J. S.C. Wyo.
Some of the abbreviations are English words. Find among the abbreviations synonyms for the following words or phrases: then give the name of the state itself. 1. Shapeless body of matter; uncountable 2. To clean 3. The objective case of "I". 4. Sick 5. Nickname for father 6. Title for an unmarried woman 7. A note of the scale 8. Exclamation of sorrow or regret 9. Noah's boat 10. Natural combination of minerals from which metals can be extracted.
United States
BEST COPY AVALA 45 3B Picture talk The initial letters of the picture clues spell out seven English words. If you work them out correctly, you will see the relationship of these words to the word given in the sample. = MENU.
AO' 1110,1°." 1 y 6 LINIZA Ira 1 1E 1W''= M q),a= 0;7b t iii *=
National park symbols
Match the words to the park symbols
1. Swimming 2. Picnic areas h 3. Fishing 4. Pets 5. Climbing 6. Hunting 7. Backpacking 8. Boat ramps k 9. Cycling 10. Skiing FE 11. Handicapped 12. Scenic drives m 13. Horseback riding n 14. Boating 46 39 ilomonyms &_2alindromes Spelling bee
Fill in the blanks in each sentence with two or three words that have the same sound but different spelling and different meanings. The number of blanks equals the number of letters in the missing word. 1. Our team game and lost three games.
2. They agreed play more games next week, 3. The golfers watched the ball when they heard someone shout " _!" 4. The four of us were so hungry that we hamburgers. 5. Each player the ball the hoop at least once. 6. As we approached the coast we could the 7. Anna had many things to on her new machine that she had no time to any seeds in the garden. 8. At the airport the guide said, "Come this so they can your luggage. 9. We had to in line until they determined the of our bags. 10. We the boat to the dock so it wouldn't go out when the came in. 11. Unfortunately, we did put a very good in the rope, and it came unfastened. 12. The people on the safari that a of elephants was headed their way. 13. If you sit very quietly, you can the wind blowing through the trees. 14. The man in the coat the notice to me. 15. We on horseback through the tall grass until we came to the that led to the town. 16. Everything looked so familiar; it was as if we had that before.
17. We went to where they were selling boats, and _ _ _ _boats had a sign on them that said " 33 18. The students down in their notebooks the sentences that they had learned by
19. The wind the rain clouds away, leaving a clear sky.
20. The father said, "I will sit in the shade out of the hot ' while my the roof on the house.
4'7 40 Parts of the body
Each of the following clues refers to a part of the body (in some casesa homonym of a part of the body).
1. A clock has one. 6. A rabbit 2. A clock has two. 7. Nautical "yes" 3. Part of a comb 8. Weapons 4. A valentine 9. Part of a river 5. A baby cow 10. Understands
head ear neck
wrist palm thumb fingers
48 41 Alphabetic words
Answer each definition by a word that has the same sound as the name of a letter of the alphabet: 1.Exist (two possible answers) 2.Body of water 3.Indefinite article 4.Beverage 5.Observe, look at 6.Part of the face 7.Have an obligation 8.Flying insect 9.Exclamation of surprise 10.Hint, or signal for action 11.Former (prefix) 12.For what reason 13.Vegetable 14.Peg for holding a golf ball 15.River in England (two possible answers) 16.Billiard stick 17.Kind of blue bird 18.female sheep 19.command to a horse
In the following, the answer sounds like plural letters (eg., dees, efs, aiches, zees, etc.) 20.Freedom from difficulty of discomfort 21.Sensible; discerning; judicious 22.Employ 23.Playfully mock; make fun of 24.Grasp; take hold of 25.Extremities; outcomes; aims; goals
Three-letter name words: 1. Foe 2.Loveliness
Four-letter name word: Title of honor for certain persons of high position
Five-letter name word: Appropriateness to the conditions; doing for advantage rather than for what is right; self-interest
49 t,Ay BRoTHERs I '' ' 0 °NI-( 7--HREE VNa. / J-IE es AND L.1- AI-51-1i CAN SPAA E 00° friis NA ,ps A BAcKWA' V ,A v.-v., S11114.1r11.14 C .. . / eH"(/') ,, V , - C
Palindromes
A palindrome may be defined as a word, phrase, RAT I SAW? and WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW? sentence, verse, or (sometimes) number that reads and WON'T LOVERS REVOLT NOW? Some of the the same backwards as forwards. Some examples of longer palindromes show a persistent ingenuity as words that are palindromes are: POP, SEES, EVE, well as imagination: DOC, NOTE I DISSENT; A DID, ROTATOR. FAST NEVER PREVENTS A FATNESS. I DIET ON COD. Which reminds us of the plaintive cry of one Probably the best-known sentence that is a who has overindulged at the table: STRESSED WAS I palindrome is MADAM, I'M ADAMpresumably ERE I SAW DESSERTS. uttered upon introducing himself to Eve (herself a palindrome!) in the garden of Eden. Another one thatBy far the most popular palindromic personage is has been around for some time is Napoleon's Edna, who performs a variety of feats, usually in (fictitious) utterance ABLE WAS I ERE I SAW ELBA. tandem: DENNIS AND EDNA SINNED.PAT AND A third candidate for the trio of well-known EDNA TAP.ENID AND EDNA DINE. At last,_a palindromes is A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL solo performance (though with an implied PANAMA! companion): TOO FAR, EDNA, WE WANDER AFOOT. Many palindromes have a stilted unnatural sound. For example: STEP ON NO PETS and LIVE NOT The following two palindromes, taken together, ON EVIL. (Don't step on any pets and Don't live on provide a family commentary: PA'S A SAP and MA IS evil certainly do not qualify as palindromes, but they AS SELFLESS AS I AM. Sometimes animals get into would be at least slightly more likely candidates for the act: A DOG; A PANIC IN A PAGODA and TEN everyday conversation.) ANIMALS I SLAM IN A NET.
Palindrome sentences seem to thrive on imperatives Occasionally one comes across a natural palindrome, and negatives. Sometimes they suggest a plausible such as YREKA BAKERYan actual bakery, located context, as DRAW, 0 COWARD!if you think of theat 322 W. Miner Street, in the city of Yreka, swashbuckling days of swordplay. In other cases thereCalifornia. is a certain quaintness: "TIS IVAN ON A VISIT. Or they may be quite overwhelming in their bombast: LIVE, 0 DEVIL! REVEL EVER! LIVE! DO EVIL! and its more positive counterpart: DO 0 GOD, NO EVIL DEED, LIVE ON, DO GOOD!
Occasionally a palindrome may be a question (usually beginning with was and ending with saw): WAS IT A So 43 Reverse me Related to the palindromes but more accessible to our knowledge and imagination, are pairs of words whose spellings are the reverse of each other. Some such pairs are : poolloop, eraare, spottops, railliar, timeemit, pannap, rewarddrawer, doggod, tappat, keeppeek, gnattang, diallaid, saggas, rattar, spannaps, noon, lappal, sleeppeels, snappans, liveevil, steppets (and many others). Such pairs of words provide the solutions to the following puzzles:
1. I'm the high point. Reverse me and I'm something to cook in. 2. I'm uncooked. Reverse me and I'm armed conflict. 3. I'm a portion of the whole. Reverse me and I'm something to catch (ensnare) something in.
4.I perceived with the eyes. Reverse me and I existed. 5. I'm a heavy weight. Reverse me and I'm a negative. 6. I'm a wild animal. Reverse me and I move like water. 7. I'm a number. Reverse me and I'm an open-meshed fabric used for catching fish. 8. I'm an obstruction used to hold back water. Reverse me and I'm crazy.
9.I was victorious. Reverse me and I'm the present time. 10. I dug minerals out of the ground. Reverse me and I'm a coarse cloth that jeans are made of.
51 Word ind Hidden states
Can you find and circle in the grid the hidden state names listed below? They read vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and occasionally even overlapping and reversed. (Note that four of the states are presented in abbreviated form.) Created by Homer Wakerly, Colorado Springs, Colorado O KLAHOMASSACHUSETTSV DHNAGIHCIMKENTUCKYEI AMI ZMARYLANDELAWARER REIOTREUPESVRAICMNSG O TOSHSHOVEDITAWOIESI L OAKSALAKSARBENNNDEN O NNRLODIEIKGETANNRNI CWEOEAUIGTOIAIMEEANS N EWYANKRNETNRNICSGEI O SJWFLORIDAILYSTONTE CTEEYESSIRIAITSITIED AVRNGREEKOTAOSICAMXO RISOCARARIZONASUUOAH O REGONNAMABALASTTYSR L GYAMSOS IONILL I IAWAH I IGUAMATNEWHAMPSHIRE N NISNOCSIWOCIRPLIESC AINAVLYSNNEPQUITSUND CAL IFORNIATOKADHTRON KOCIXEMWENOTGNIHSAWL
ALABAMA HAWAII MASSACHUSETTS NEW MEXICO S. DAKOTA ALASKA IDAHO MICHIGAN NEW YORK TENNESSEE ARIZONA ILLINOIS MINNESOTA NO. CAROLINA TEXAS ARKANSAS INDIANA MISSISSIPPI NORTH DAKOTA UTAH CALIFORNIA IOWA MISSOURI OHIO VERMONT COLORADO KANSAS MONTANA OKLAHOMA VIRGINIA CONNECTICUT KENTUCKY NEBRASKA OREGON WASHINGTON DELAWARE LOUISIANA NEVADA PENNSYLVANIA WEST VIRGINIA FLORIDA MAINE NEW HAMPSHIRE RHODE IS. WISCONSIN GEORGIA MARYLAND NEW JERSEY SO. CAR. WYOMING 52 45 Letter words in hiding
Find the letter words hidden in the grid, using the definitions below as clues. The letters forming the letter-words can appear horizontally (left to right), vertically, or diagonally. The first one has been done for you. QPVMRGN VBHISPE MLADVIS MTSJ TCAR F UL VIP U TWA
1. flying saucer 2. request on an invitation 3. very quickly 4. somebody who gets special treatment 5. an advanced degree 6. a person who acts as a host for an entertainment program 7. a sandwich 8. identification card 9. extraordinary powers of perception 10. an electronic transmitter of images and sounds 11. an American airline company 12. a promise to pay 13. a person who presents a recorded music program on the radio
53 World capitals
Within the grid, find the capitals of the countries listed below: Created by Perry V Zizzi, Palau
U.K. SPAIN INDONESIA AUSTRALIA JAPAN MEXICO GREECE PERU BANGLADESH EGYPT SUDAN IRAQ PALAU NICARAGUA NORWAY MALAYSIA KENYA CANADA ITALY BELGIUM PHILIPPINES VENEZUELA TURKEY IRELAND IRAN ARGENTINA TOGO MALTA SOUTH KOREA JORDAN W LOMQLOMECAIROBE TOSLOKUALALUMPUR E NZITRRNSMANAGUA HDEKSAAUEINQYI TM E ICKERJKITAHATEM RNAIROBIUTNGEISA ANNIVPERLAILENIN N OBDUBLINWLPEIJC E DERTDACCAAHOKEA FORTUDUTVATUANUR KORORSVEMADRIDLA KYAJSXSBTRNBKEAC W ORYIKEEDJAKARTA E VEOPROCLIMAALES B AGHDADERSAARRVM MEXICOCITYANOOAC IF IGOTKHARTOUMIS B UENOSAIRESTDEOR
54 47 Irregular verbs
Write on the line following each verb the simple past tense form of that verb. Then find that word in the puzzle below. Created by Perry V Zizzi, Palau
1. to begin 11. to steal 21. to let 2. to choose 12. to think 22. to see 3. to do 13. to go 23. to wear 4. to eat 14. to freeze 24. to tear 5. to leave 15. to fly 25. to sit 6. to run 16. to feel 26. to drink 7. to lie 17. to have 27. to swim 8. to know 18. to hurt 28. to break 9. to teach 19. to get 29. to take 10. to say 20. to hide 30. to sing
B E L L E I F L E W E T H O O V E R ATXLUCKWS TRYEJHURT YFORDNAEMAAOSEAERL E TARASUVILDEBROKE I S TAREDSAIDVDWRJSAN IHDTABGATOOKAEOUGG B UIEANOELRAMSMNKAK RUNDAL ZNTEROATHTNN E LS S IOEIABHUARKUSE A T E H R E H X U C E S K I S ISW K TAFLFROGSGETUFWEO AIRRTETNHAWLVHWAAR RRAAIHCTT ICODEOANM E EABGVHOSLFNRALUI I UEOGIGANALLIDYILNEP G A U E G A Z K F E E L E D Y O T B HATARADETTRL INGER TECHIRANRIATHADZ I T
55 48 ri Wordadventures Grandcanyon
How many words can you make from the letters in the words GRAND CANYON? Clues are given below, but if you prefer, you can proceed without clues. Starting at the top of the canyon, put one word on each line. Try to reach the bottom of the canyon and then climb back to the top on the other side. 2-letter words: string rope ublic notice (abbr.) cereal grain article ',rugged cliff make, act mend depart, leave small boat negative pull over; upon cart alternative spur bloody 3-letter words: colorless conjunction ',wild party some 'zesty, risque curve, part of a circle sounded a bell ungentlemanly man path; way able to ed horse automobile garden court kind of fish wool thread against distant cute, coquettish ''weep; shout 5-letter words ',part of a week ',irate; mad animal other Tut on type of gas not wet a sweet go about without purpose shrewd, wise kind of fish law right, happy freight deity trite, sentimental constantly find fault close friend negative sound of pain or grief move the head keyboard instrument drink ',synthetic fabric correlative of neither rowing instrument 6-letter words: old piece of cloth kind of goat, cat, or rabbit (fur) moved quickly false statement or rumor beam of light -yellow bird legendary bird frankness, sincerity fishing pole large gun distant crevice coloring tool 4-letter words: synthetic fabric later mythical monster stiff paper 56 49
57 U Mountaineering
Each of the six peaks below can be climbed by going step by step from basecamp to the top of the mountain. This is done by writing in as many words as you can think of made from the letters in the word MOUNTAINS. Cluesare given below, but if you prefer you can proceed on your own to think of as many I -letter, 2-letter, 3-letter, 4-letter, 3-letter,and 6-letter words respectively.
21.000 ft. 20,000 ft.
Q.
12,000 ft. 21 20 20 10,000 ft. 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 6,000 ft. 2,000 ft. 13 13 12 12 12 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
CLUES
1-letter words: 3-letter words: light brown has to shiny fabric article purpose or goal metal; can substantive; name word animal's nose 1st person island in a river 2,000 pounds leave out discolor, soil; color per- insect large cask or vat 2-letter words: remove by force or legal manently tavern; traveler's lodging action act of joining; some- 1st-person verb charged particle 4-letter words: article fit; be appropriate; set of thing formed by joining person at another time clothes word used with compar- tiny particle deprive of manly material used as a pad daze, astonish; make qualities or courage atives negative mother's sister in the location of senseless or dizzy woman in a religious preposition edible fish 6-letter word: opposite of out order principal, primary total number or quantity 3rd-person verb single thing or element hard-shelled dry fruit vertical pole on a ship to spirit; animating force pronoun kind of grain fragrant herb; where apply oil; consecrate negative opposite of in coins are made 5-letter words: deepest within over moral offense fine rain or spray negatively charged par- country therefore opposite of stand melancholy sound ticle darkening of the skin by in the direction of male child small body of water stone- or bricklayer the sun you and me total around a castle slightly wet source of earth's light greatest amount or climb, go up and heat number holy person 5B BEST COPY AVAOLABLE 51
Twice around the isle/aisle
A swimmer recently swam twice around Manhattan Island in 21hours, 2 minutes and 46 seconds. Working in pairs, how long will it take you to swim twice around Manhattan? Below are 36pairs of homonymswords that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. If you getboth members of a pair (spelled correctly), count 40 minutes of time; if you get only one count 50 minutes; if you getneither, count 60 minutes. If you can think of a third homonym (e.g. in the above example) subtract 20 minutes.
J
-
1. First Lap: 2. Second Lap: a. carrynaked, unclothed a. crushes or grinds with the teethselect b. alsonumber b. alternativelyflat piece of wood used to row a c. precious, costlyforest animal boat d. in this placeperceive with the ear c. part of the footpull something with a rope e. thusjoin cloth together with needle and d. main, most importantrule or standard of thread behavior f. perceived, understooddivision of a play e. small hotelpreposition g. went before, guidedheavy metal f. pushed air out of the mouthcolor h. looked at and understood printed letters g. precipitationrule, be in power color h. correct, properput words on paper i. act of sellingpiece of cloth on a boat to catch i. was carried on a horsestreet, pathway the wind j. the mixture of gases that we breatheone who j. heavinessstay in place until something inherits happens k. went higherlines of things k. be aware of, understandnot any 1. one of the masculine genderpost, send a letter 1. consumednumber m. an opening in somethingentire, complete m. permittedspoken, not silent n. total of added numbersa few, any n. period of timebelonging to us o. insect that makes honeyexist o. estimated, answered without being sure p. oceansgrasp, take hold of invited visitor q. flock, group of animalsperceived,listened to p. prevailed, was first in a contestnumber r. place where string or rope is tied together q. was aware of, understoodfresh, of recent negative origin r. purchasenext to
59 52 Alphabetconnect
I am the largest of the land mammals. I live in the forests andsavannas of Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Who am I? To answer the question connect the letters of the alphabet in order(A, B, C C. ..), first the capital letters, then the small letters.
SW 'X .G V z %*44%*\
.A
o .e a. Z 13. no j. ac7i 'd 4
60 sealn
Crossword puzzles are an excellent vehicle for cooperative learning. The crossword puzzles in this section are graded into the categories of easy and challenging, based upon the difficulty of the words required for completion.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Working with a classmate, students can share their CD knowledge of English in solving the various vocabulary or grammatical questions posed in the puzzle. After students have completed the puzzle (in class or as homework assigned to be done with a classmate), the teacher should discuss the N solutions with the class as a whole. Give students examples of sentences in which N some of the new words are used, and ask them to write sentences of their own.
61 easycrossword-)uzzles
#1. Openings Across 1 2 3 4 1. Made of a very precious metal 5. Article 6. Not sweet 5 7. At any time 9. That is (abbr.) 10. Therefore 6 11. Opening in a wall to let in light and air
Down 7 8 1. Opening in a wall or fence for a passageway 9 ,o 2. Upon; above and supported by 3. Entrance to a room or building 4. Not wide 6. Observed 1 1 8. Seven (roman numerals) 10. Thus
#2. Education Across 1. Learner; one who studies 7. Opposite of bottom 8. Female deer 1 2 3 4 5 6 9. Preposition meaning "over and in contact with" 10. For example (Latin abbreviation) 7 8 12. And the others (Latin abbreviation) 14. Exclamation of surprise 15. Test; inspect closely 9 10 18. Not ever
Down 11 12 13 1. Tales; short fictional narratives; anecdotes 2. 2,000 pounds 14 3. Opposite of down 4. Rim; border; lip 5. Negative response; opposite of yes 15 16 17 6. Instructor 11. Conjunction used with comparative adjectives and adverbs 18 13. Vocal or musical sound; a particular pitch in an intonation 16. Objective case of the pronoun "I" 17. Roman numeral for four 62 55
#3. Communication
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8
9
10 11 12
13 14
15 16 17
18
19
Across Down 1. Vehicle of communication; tongue; the 1. Language specialist speech (and writing) of a particular 2. Equally; in the same amount or degree; country, nation, or group in the same manner; while 7. Form of to be 3. Complete a school course; obtain a degree 8. Movement of the head to signify 4. Article agreement, understanding, or assent 5. Move; proceed 9. Express in words; speak; state; utter 6. Teaches; develops the mind or 10. Better than average; suitable; proper, character by training not bad 9. Thus 11. And so forth; and others of the same 12. Article kind (abbr.) 16. Organ of hearing 13. You and me 17. Observe; use the eyes; have the power 14. Half of a laugh of sight; understand 15. A thought; mental picture 17. Put in a place or position; a group of related items; fixed, established, firm 18. Preposition 19. Patient; untiring; indefatigable 63 56
# 4. Collocations
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
10 11
12 13 14 15
16 17
18
19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
31 32
Across Down 1. Bread and 1. and groom 6. and hers 2. Number 7. Hat and 3. Shirt and 10. Come back 4. Superlative ending 12. Cease to live 5. Ma and 14. Shoes and 7. A large group of people 16. Always; at any time 8. One time 17. Past tense of go 9. Examination 20. Past tense of sit 11. You and me 22. Exist 13. I have 23. Preposition 15. Part of the leg 25. Test 18. Automobiles 27. Macaroni and 19. and fiction 29. Country in North America 20. Part of a plant that comes up from the roots and 31. A group that works or plays together supports the flowers and leaves 32. Short and 21. Fastens with a rope, cord, etc. 22. Color 24. Article 26. Chew and swallow 28. Each (abbr.) 30. Southeast (abbr.)
64 57 # 5. Abbreviations # 6. Language Learning
5 1 2 3 4 I6 1 2 3 4
7 8 9 5
10 11
6 7 8 12 13 14
15 16 9 10
17 18 19 11
20 21
12 22 23
Across Across 1. In the location of; by; near 1. A procedure or systematic plan of instruction; 3. Exclamation of surprise way; approach 5. Abbreviation for milliliter 5. Make a mistake; stray ("To is human; to 7. Small horselike animal; ass forgive, divine.") 10. Thing to sit on; bench; chair 6. Abbreviation for Maryland or doctor of medicine 12. Small container to drink from 8. A beam of light radiating from a bright object 14. Poetic word for island 15. Above; over 9. An example that serves as a pattern for imitation 16. Abbreviation for street or saint 12. Up to date, contemporary, recent 17. Loose outer garment 20. Past tense of lend Down 21. Thus; in such a way; very 1. Mimicry-memorization (abbreviation) 22. Up to now; so far; still 2. In this place 23. Flat; smooth; level; uniform 3. Spoken; uttered by the mouth or in words Down 4. Not wet 1. Abbreviation for advertisement 7. Perform; act; execute; carry out (also used as a 2. In the direction of; as far as substitute verb and to express empahsis) 3. All right 10. Past tense of 7 down 4. Pause; delay momentarily 11. Indefinite article 6. Stringed instrument 8. Short sleep during the day 9. Affirmative response 11. Everything or everyone; the whole quantity 12. Abbreviation for company 13. One's mother's brother 16. Male offspring 18. Allow 19. Past tense of win 21. Abbreviation for southeast 65 # 7. Colors
Across 1. A sunny color
1 2 3 4 5. Abbreviation for right 6. A "hot" color 8. cola 5 6 7 11. Abbreviation for road 14. Not as short 16. Showed the way; went before and guided 8 9 10 11 12 18. A dull color 19. United Nations (abbr.) 13 14 15 20. Appear to be true 21. Past-tense ending 23. Applies color to; tubes of different color 16 17 18 DOWN 1.12 months (abbr.) 19 20 2. And the rest, and so on (abbr.) 3. A color/a fruit 4. You and I 21 22 7. Something imagined during sleep 9. Not new 23 10. Abbreviation for company 12. Not wet 13. The color of the sky 15. The color of grass 17. Opposite of begin 20. A body of water 22. You and me
# 8. Diamonds
ACROSS 2 Petroleum 4 Means of transportation 2 3 6 A square that stands on its point 7 Rock 4 5 8 Being (philosophy)
DOWN 6 1 A very hard precious stone 2 Give a formal speech 3 Jungle cats 7 4 It is (poetic) 5 Compass point 8
66 5 r-4 ..iriossword uzzles #9. Geoffrey Giraffe
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13 14 15
16 ii'''' 17
18 19 20
21 22
23
Across Down 1. Tallest animals 1. Man's name 8. Ending of some past participles 2. Tell; give information or knowledge to; make 9. Earliest; highest in rank; preceding all others in aware time, order, or importance 3. Toward or in the rear part of a ship or aircraft; 10. Preposition abbreviation for the part of day between noon 11. Prefix meaning three and sunset 12. Preposition 4. Kind of evergreen tree 14. An immeasurably long period of time; a geologic 5. Someone you like; a loved acquaintance; age; eternity companion 16. Cook in hot oil 6. Plural ending 17. A quick downward movement of the head, often 7. Being in an upright position on one's feet; the indicating agreement or approval position in which 1 across usually sleep; 18. Room (abbreviation) tolerating or bearing courageously 19. Help; give assistance; something that provides 13. Railway (abbreviation) assistance 15. Two-thirds of 100 21. Nothing 19. Atmosphere; what we breathe; the invisible and 22. Indefinite article odorless gases that surround the earth 23. Lasting through a twelve-month period 20. Sick; indisposed; not well; ailing 21. North America (abbreviation); not applicable (abbreviation) 22. Article 67 # 10. Writing systems
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 19
10 11
12 13
14 15
i 16 17 18
19 20 21 /
For the starred entries, two sets of answers are possible, an "a" group and a "b" group. For these three words, all "a" answers orall "b" answers must be used together. Split squares permit recording of both sets.
Across Down 1. The 26 letters 1. Forward; in front; into the future 8. One who inherits 2. Elements of an alphabet 9. An individual 3. Things that preceded letters in ancient writing 10. And so forth systems 11. Stair; to walk 4. Sixty minutes (abbr.) 12. Fasten (something to something) 5. The two 14. 40-40 in tennis 6. Compass point 15. a. Doctor of Medicine / b. Road (abbr.)* 7. Lukewarm 16. Railroad (abbr.) 11. Places of actions; divisions of a play 17. New (prefix) 13. Alternating current (abbr.) 19. Having no purpose or practical value; good for 15. a. Greatest amount or number / b.Flower* nothing 18. Plural ending 21. Distress signal 19. You and me 22. a. In the direction of / b. For example (abbr.)* 20. Behold! (poetic)
68 61 # 11. American and British varieties of English
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29
30 31
The answer to each asterisked clue is the British or American equivalent.
Across Down 1. Head coverings 1. End of the arm 5. Form of be 2. Large monkey-like animal 7. Slingshot* 3. What comes after RS 11. River in Switzerland and France 4. Catapult* 12. With 6 down, hardware store* 6. See 12 across 13. Garden* 7. Weep 14. Northeast 8. Exclamation of surprise and satisfaction or 15. What comes after DE discovery 16. Suggested unisex pronoun 9. Flashlight* 17. In addition; too 10. Alternative for -ter* 20. Exclamation of delight 15. Apartment* 21. We in the United States, objectively 18. Nought* 22. Lift* 19. Used for baking 26. Underdone* 23. The front part of a seated person; to drink like a 27. Subway* dog 30. Not shut 24. Before (poetic) 31. Open fabric made of string or thread 25. Ladder* 28. Exist 29. Extraterrestrial 69 62 # 12. The asterisk*
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13 14 15
16 17 18
19 20 21 22
23 24
25 26
Across Down 1.A starlike sign used as a footnote marker 1.Powdery material left after a fire 8.A sudden or violent out-break of wind, rain, snow, 2.Heavenly body etc. 3.Preposition 9.Preposition 4.Mistake 10.Half a laugh 5.Room (abbr.) 11.Any person or thing; unit 6.Committed a moral fault 12.An enclosed space in a house or other building 7.Joint in the middle of the leg 15.Opposite of southwest (abbr.) 13.Bird with large eyes that sleeps during the day 17.Put words on paper yesterday 14.A greater amount 19.Everything; everybody; completely 16.Arrived 21.Was carried in a vehicle or on an animal 18.Having been pulled apart; ripped 23.1st person pronoun 20.Went first; showed the way 24.3rd person pronoun 22.Chew and swallow food 25.Rim; border; cutting part of a knife 24.That man 26.Negative words
7 0 63 # 13. The seven continents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22 23 24 25
26
27 28 29 30
31
Across Down 1. Coldest continent 1. Second word of two continents 9. Missouri (abbr.) 2. part of speech 10. Brave; confident 3. Over; on top of; higher than 11. Preposition 4. Heavy cords; twisted or braided strands of fiber 12. Continent 5. An office worker who keeps accounts and records; 13. Organ of hearing a salesperson in a store or shop 14. Registered nurse (abbr.) 6. Touchdown (abbr.) 15. Intensifier 7. Persuade by kindness, patience, or flattery 16. Eleven (Roman numeral) 8. Second largest continent 17. Table for writing or studying 17. Negative prefix 19. Sodium bicarbonate; carbonated water; soft drink 18. Bubble up; reach the temperature where a liquid 21. Island continent changes to gas 26. Without difficulty; with facility; in a smooth, free 19. Past tense of slide manner 20. 24-hour periods 27. 1st person pronoun 22. Employ, utilize 28. Dry; lacking mositure; parched by heat 23. Pull apart or to pieces; damage by pulling sharply; 29. Thus, in the same manner or way; to a great extent drop of salty water coming from the eye or degree 24. Unusual; uncommon; not often occurring 31. Region; extent of space or surface; scope 25. Largest continent 27. Possessive pronoun 30. Correlative of either; function word used to indicate an alternative .
71 # 14. IqPNY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
11
12 13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28
29 30 32
33 34
Across Down 1.Male human being 1. Representation of the earth's surface 3.Head covering 2. Correlative of as 5.Light brown 3. In what manner 8.Like 4. Winning yacht 9.Second person 5. Part of an infinitive 10.Roof formed of rounded arches 6. Form of to be 11.Information about recent happenings 7. Largest U.S. city 13.Twice ten 9. Cry out loudly; cheer 15.Not as empty 10. Woman's clothing 16.Thus 12. Drinking vessel 17.From a lower to a higher position 14. Negative 18.Heavenly body 15. Completely filled 19.Part of a wind-powered boat 19. Moves through water with arm and leg movements 21.Not high 20. Sick; not well 22.Boundaries 23. Middle of the alphabet 26.Land surrounded by water 24. Not busy; unemployed 27.Each (abbr.) 25. Thing to sit on 29.That man 28. Some 31.Act of lending; something lent 29. Informal hello 33.Belonging to it 30. That thing 34.Freedom 32. Correlative of either
7 2 65
#15. Tools
2 3 4 5 6 8 9
11 12
13 E 14
16 17 18
19 20 21
23 24
25 26 27
29 30 31 32 33
34 35
36 37 38
39 40 41
42 43
Across Down 1.A tool for tightening screws 1. Past tense of shall; ought to 11.A tool for pounding nails 2. A person who uses tools to build cabinets 12.Belonging to me 3. Room (abbreviation) 13.Alternative conjunction 4. Use; give a job to 14.Preposition of possession 5.1st person plural 15.Not even; strange 6. Let fall 16.Opposite of down 7. Contraction of I am 17.Part of the mouth 8. A musical instrument with four strings 19.A sour yellow fruit 9. Finish; the part that comes last 20.What you use with 11 across 10. A color 23.Abbreviation for 24 across 18. Preposition of place; inside of 24.Opposite of up 20. At this time 25.Preposition of direction 21. Deep reverence; wonder 27.You and I 22. What you use with 1 Across 28.Correlative of either 26. Individual; a single unit 29.Says it isn't true 28. Above; on top of 33.Contraction of I have 29. To live (in a place); remain 34.A tool for twisting and turning 30. An alphabetical list of things telling what page they 35.In a new or different way; again (literary) may be found on 36.A tool for making holes; a language practice 31. A light beige color 38.What comes between Q and T 32. An article of clothing 39.Pound (abbreviation) 33. Opposite of out 40.A continent 35. Mountains in Switzerland, Italy, France, and Austria 42.A tool for chopping 37. Look! (poetic) 43.A large, bright heavenly body; a five-pointed figure; a 41. Extraterrestrial (abbreviation) celebrated performer 73 # 16. Time
21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28 29
30
Across Down 1. Twelve of this make a 23 down 1. The early part of the day 4. Seven days 2. At this time 7. A fruit pressed for its oil, especially in 3. 30 across of this make a day Mediterranean lands 4. Mental resourcefulness; verbal ingenuity 8. A straight line of objects 5. Short for evening 9. Say 6. A snake-like fish 11. part of a circle 10. Allow, permit 13. Opposite of 27 across 11. Past tense of eat 15. Make a mistake 12. One hundred 23 down 18. Opposite of yes 14. Therefore 19. Middle part of the day 16. Underground part of a plant 22. The day after yesterday 17. Past tense of ride 24. Sixty of this make 3 down 20. North America (abbr.) 27. Opposite of 13 across 21. Contraction of I am 29. Correlative of neither 23. One one-hundredth of 12 down 30. The number of 3 down in a day 25. Resting place for travelers 26. Negative 27. Not he or she 28. Opposite of NE section 3
An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood literally. Even when a person knows the meaning of all the words and understands the grammar, the overall meaning of the idiom may be unclear. When students gain an understanding of American idioms, and the facility to use them, they are truly a part of the American English speech community. This may be one reason why so many students are interested in learning idioms.
Some idioms are so widely used that they are clichesso commonplace in the spoken language that they are best avoided in writing for fear of suggesting an unoriginal mind! Cliches and proverbs, another form of idiomatic usage, do not vary in form, e.g., "Curiosity killed the cat" not "the dog" and "Too many cooks spoil the broth" not "the meal." Other idioms may allow for some form of variation, such as "to look (or feel) like death warmed over;" or in the form of taking on modifiers, e.g., "It was-(beautiful) music to my ears."
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. The first two activities in this section can be done in pairs or as a whole class "mingling" activity. If the mingling format is used, the teacher will give each student a piece of paper with a portion of the idiom written upon it. The student's task is to locate the classmate who has the portion of the sentence which completes the idiom.
The "Fun Time" and "Idiomatic Antonyms" activities should be done in pairs with students identifying the correct idiom and providing a situation and a sentence in which it can be used.
The final activities in this section include (1) idioms that are semantically linked, as expressions relating to sports or food, and (2) idioms derived from specialized vocabulary items that have found their way into current, general American English usage.
O 75 BB
Teachers can reproduce the information from these pages for class discussion and then extend the activity in the following ways:
1. Make a list of situations some of which would allow for the use of a designated idiom and others do not. Ask the students to determine whether the idiom applies to the situation or not,
EXAMPLE: Which of the following statements illustrate the idiom "(to) be on target"to achieve a desired goal; to be correct about something.
A student who answers every question on a test correctly. ANSWER: She/he is on target.
A basketball player who makes 15% of his shots. ANSWER: She/he is not on target.
2. Ask the students to work in pairs to identify situations and write sentences in which a particular idiom will apply.
3. Ask the students to personalize an idiom by giving examples of how the idiom applies to their lives.
4. Ask the students to consider whether there are expressions in their native language similar to the idiom in American English. If there are, ask them to describe the situations in which the expressions are used. Have them compare this with the usage of the American idiom.
76 Bird words
I. Match each word or phrase in the first column with the word or phrase in the second column that produces a common saying or idiom. 1. a bird in the hand a. goose 2. birds of a feather b. peace 3. bird- c. the chicken or the egg 4. stool d. is worth two in the bush 5. bird's eye e. owl 6. to kill two birds f. one's neck 7. silly g. catches the worm 8. which came first h. pigeon 9. he eats i.with one stone 10. what's sauce for the goose j.brain 11. wise old k. like an ostrich 12. bury one's head in the sand 1. like a bird 13. crane m. is sauce for the gander 14. dove of n. view 15. the early bird o. flock together
II. Match each word in the first column with its correct definition in the second column.
1. birdie a. foolish, or inept person 2. chicken b. objectionable or worthless 3. turkey c. lower the head or body to avoid collision with 4. cuckoo an object 5. duck d. repeat by rote 6. parrot e. a golf score of one stroke less than par 7. for the birds f. timid; cowardly g. silly, a little crazy
77 Animal words
I. Match each word or phrase in the first column with the word or phrase in the second column that produces a proverb or idiom. 1. A barking dog a. the dogs 2. Never look a gift horse b. out of the bag 3. Curiosity killed c. but you can't make him drink 4. Dog eat d. lie 5. You can't teach an old dog e. never bites 6. Let sleeping dogs f. new tricks 7. When the cat's away g. of a different color 8. Let the cat h. horses 9. There's more than one way i.hog 10. It's raining j. dog 11. You may lead a horse to water k. to skin a cat 12. Go to 1. in the mouth 13. Go whole m. the mice will play 14. Hold your n. cats and dogs 15. That's a horse o. the cat
II. Match each word in the first column with its correct definition in the second column. 1. hog' a. to reveal secret information 2. buffalo b. full of spite, malicious 3. bear c. timid, fearful 4. mousey d. nonsense 5. catty e. to confuse or baffle 6. rat f. to take selfishly 7. bull g. something difficult
78 71 Fun time
Each picture below illustrates a common English phrase, idiom, or proverb.
B.
a ence..) a ceJ crae..)."
D. SECOND
E.
Dad 0Daj G. H.
7 9 72 Idiomatic antonyms
I. Add the right words to complete the pairs, and the initial letters reading downward will spell an appropriate word. 1. o__ or NONE 2.0_ or YES*
3. or FALSE
4.0_ and OFF 5.o__ or OLD
6. or OLD
7. or LESS
8. or LARGE *The idiom is commonly in reverse order from what appears here.
II. Complete the following idioms by adding a word that is opposite in meaning to the other word in the phrase. 1. Stop and
2. Lost and
3. Ups and
4. Do's and
5. Friend or
6. For better or
7. This or
8. Hit or
9. Heaven or
10. Win or
80 73 Talking sports
A number of idioms heard in everyday conversation make a splash: to receive widespread notice or publicity began as phrases used in sports. The definitions given for a remarkable or successful action below show the meanings of these idioms in common He made quite a splash when he entered the business world. parlance. go off the deep end: to become deeply involved (with someone or something) before one is ready; to follow one's emotions into a situation (informal) (refers to going into a swimming pool at the deep endrather than the shallow endand finding oneself in deep water. Applies si BASEBALL especially to falling in love.) I hope he'll think carefully about making that decision have two strikes against one: to be in a position where instead of just going off the deep end. success is unlikely (in baseball, one is "out" after three strikes) She couldn't win. She had two strikes against her before she started. ir1 BOXING keep your eye on the ball: to remain alert to the events occurring around one (informal) pull one's punches: to hold back in one's criticism If you want to succeed in this business, you have to keep your (usually in the negative) (slang) (in boxing, to strike with eye on the ball. light blows to enable the other boxer to win) pinch-hit (for someone): to substitute for someone (in I didn't pull any punches. I told him just what I thought of baseball, it refers to a substitute batter) him. I won't be able to conduct the meeting. Would you be willing beat someone to the punch: to do something before to pinch-hit for me? someone else does it. go to bat for someone: to support or help someone; to I was going to write an article on that subject, but someone stand up for or defend someone (informal) beat me to the punch. He was being treated unfairly until his friends went to bat hit someone below the belt: to do something unfair or for him. unsporting to someone (informal) (in boxing, a blow throw someone a curve: to confuse someone by doing below the belt line is not permitted) something unexpected (in baseball, to pitch a curve to We shouldn't spread that gossip about him; that would be someone) hitting below the belt. I had prepared a speech on the subject I thought they blow-by-blow account/description: a detailed wanted, but they threw me a curve; they asked for a different description (of an event) topic. She gave us a blow-by-blow account of their argument. out in left field: offbeat; unusual and eccentric (informal) He has some pretty strange ideas. That one's really out in left field. get to first base: to make a major advance with someone BILLIARDS or something (informal) I'd like to close this business deal, but I can't seem to get to behind the eight ball: in a highly disadvantageous or first base with it. baffling position (informal) touch base (or someone): to talk to someone; to confer I don't know how I'm going to get out of this situation; I'm with someone (slang) really behind the eight ball. I'll touch base with John on this question and let you know what he thinks.
TENNIS mil SWIMMING the ball's in your court: it's you turn (or responsibility) to take action swim against the tide/current: to do the opposite of I've done my part of this project. Now the ball's in your everyone else; to go against the the trend court. She probably won't go along with the rest of us on this; she Most of these definitions are from NTC's American Idioms usually swims against the current. Dictionary, ed. Richard A. Spears. Lincolnwood, National Textbook Co., 1987. 81 74 Ups and downs of English Many phrasal (two-word) verbs end in up or down. In addition to their more literal meanings,a number of these have idiomatic meanings that are not readily apparent from the individual meanings of the two elements.
TURN UP/TURN DOWN LIVE IT UP/LIVE IT DOWN turn up: (1) to appear. Three days after he left Portland, John live it up: to have an exciting time; to do what one pleases, turned up in San Francisco. regardless ofitncost; to please oneself. Men- I go on my
1 (2) to increase the volume of something, such as a light, heat, vacation, I'm really going to live it up. iVl a radio, etc. Pledse turn up the radio a little, so that we can hear live it down: t 1011 overcome the shame or embarrassment of it better. something. / was so embarrassed about what happened at the turn down: () to refuse or deny someone. Lapplied for a job party; I'll nevdrbe able to live it down. there, but they turned me down. (2) to lower the volume or amount of something, such as RUN UP/RUN DOWN hear, water, air pressure, a radio, etc. Please turn down the run up: to add to a bill; to add many charges to one's account. heat, it's much too warm in here. Ellen ran up such a big bill at that store last'. month that she doesn't have enough money to pay for it. BREAK UP/BREAK DOWN run down: to run out of power or energy. When your watch break up: (1) to disintegrate; come apart. The meeting broke runs down, you have to wind it or put a new battery in it. up when the shocking news was received. \1 . (2) to end a romance. Alice broke up with herboyfriend last week (3) to be convulsed with laughter. The com4an was so funny DRESS UP/DRESS DOWN dress up: to wear fancy or formal clothes. The children got all we just broke up when we saw his act. dressed up for the party. breakdown: (1) to fall apart; stop operating. We couldn't dress down: (1) to reprimand or scold. My4boss really dressed continue our trip because our car broke down. me down ( or, gave me a dressing down) for not getting that (2) to lose control of one's emotions; to have a nervous collapse. order in on time. When Tim heard the terrible news, he broke down and wept. (2) to dress informally or casually. We were told to dress down (3) to tear down n; to destroy. They got an axe and broke down for the party; fit vas not going to be a formal affair. the door. TEAR UP/TEAR DOWN CRACK UP/CRACK DOWN 1. tear up: (1) to rip something into pieces. Jean angrily tore up crack up: (1) to go crazy (slang). After suffering so many Tom's letter and threw the pieces into the fireplace. Arthur n Ilyasetbacks, cracked up. 1"--1 (2) to cause someone much grief (slang). The news of Alvin's (2) to make someone laugh. Johnny told a couple of jokes that I I death really tolre her up; she just cried and cried. really cracked me up. ) crack down: (1) to be strict with someone or something. The tear down: (1) to criticize or degrade someone. Our new boss teacher is cracking down on students who came in late. is always tecujingi somebody down; the morale in the office is at an all-time low. (2) to enforce a rule or law more strenuously. They're (2) to dismantle or destroy something. They're going to tear beginning to crack down on drivers who exceed the speed limit. down that old building to make way for the new highway that's WIND UP/WIND DOWN being planned. wind up: (1) to tighten the spring of something such as a clock or mechanical toy. If you wind that clo\ck up all the way, BACK UP/BACK DOWN backup: (1) to cause someone or somethingto more it will run for eight days. backwards or back. If you'll back up (your\eat) a little, we'll be (2) to conclude\or bring to an end. We hope to be able to wind able to park intlfront of you. V up the meeting by about three o'clock. (2) to support someone or something. I think that's a good (3) to end in a particular place or state or by having to do idea; I'll back you up when you present it at the meeting. something. After exploring all the other possibilities, he wound 1 up in Los Angeles.i back down: (1) to yield to a person or thing. George backed down from supporting the plan when he saw that everyone else wind down:(1)1to decrease or diminish. Things are very busy .I I was against hi. now, but I thmk they'll wind down soon. (2) to fail to carry through on a threat. Richard had boasted (2) to come gradually to an end. The party began to wind down at abodt 10 o'clock. that he would fight anyone who opposed him, but he backed down when he realized he couldn't win.
82 75 American English: A happy marriage According to an age-old tradition, a bride should wear at her wedding ceremony "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." We have borrowed this tradition to examine idiomatic usage in American English.
SOMETHING OLD... SOMETHING BORROWED... The following "old" words are Latin abbreviations of Latin The following words have been taken into English from words used in English (and some other languages). Except native Alaskan and Australian languages. where otherwise indicated, the meaning given is the literal igloo (Esk.): an Eskimo house usually made of sod, wood, or translation of the Latin word or phrase. stone when permanent, or of blocks of snow in the shape of a A.D. (anno Domini) = in the year of our Lord dome when built for temporary purposes A.M. (ante meridiem) = before midday; morning kayak (Esk.): an Eskimo canoe made of a frame covered with ca. (circa) = about, approximately skins except for a small opening in the center, and propelled cf. (confer) = compare by a double-bladed paddle. e.g. (exempli gratia) = for the sake of example parka (Aleut from Russia): a hooded fur pullover garment for et al. (et alii) = and others (people) arctic wear (now, any hooded jacket to protect from cold and etc. (et cetera) = and other things; and the rest wind) ibid. (ibidem) = in the same place (used in writing to indicate mukluk (Esk.): a sealskin or reindeer-skin boot worn by further reference to the book, chapter, etc. cited just before) Eskimos i.e. (id est) = that is boomerang (native Australian): a bent or angular throwing lb. (libra) = pound club designed so that it soars or curves in flight so as to return N.B. (nota bene) = note well near the thrower op. cit. (opere citato) = in the work cited kangaroo (Australian): any of various herbivorous leaping marsupial mammals of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent P.M. (post meridiem) = after midday; afternoon islands P.S. (postscriptum) = written after (something written after the signature line of a letter, or added to a book or article) koala (Australian): an Australian arboreal marsupial about two feet long that has large hairy ears, gray fur, and sharp [sic] (thus, so) = [thus] (used to show that a quoted passage, claws often containing some error, is precisely reproduced) wallaby ( native Australian): any of various small or medium- SOMETHING NEW... sized, usually brightly colored, kangaroos The following are new words, new combinations, or new usages. SOMETHING BLUE... ace: to earn the grade "A" on an examination The following are a few of the many English idioms that Because he studies hard, John aced the exam. contain the word blue. number crunching: the performance of long, complex, often feeling blue: feeling low in spirits, melancholy repetitive, mathematical calculations the blues: a song, often of lamentation, characterized by 12- After some intense number crunching he was able to solve the bar phrases, 3-line stanzas in which the words of the second mathematical problem. line repeat those of the first, and continual occurrence of blue nonstarter: someone or something that is not productive or or sad notes in melody and harmony effective until one is blue in the face: to do (or deal with) something That project turned out to be a nonstarter. or someone for an exasperatingly long time, usually to no laid-back: having a relaxed style or character avail The summer-school students had a much more laid-back attitude than the full-time students. black and blue: darkly discolored from blood effused by bruising gut course: a course or class (as in college) that is easily passed blue law: a statute regulating work, commerce, and Bill took several gut courses because he didn't have enough time amusements on Sundays to study. blue jeans: pants made of blue denim anchorman: a broadcaster who introduces reports by other blueprint: a photographic print in white on a blue broadcasters and usually reads the news (also anchorperson, background used especially for copying maps, mechanical anchorwoman, or anchor) drawings, and architects' plans There's a new anchorman on the ABC News program. once in a blue moon: very rarely
83 0.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.O.K.
More than 30 years ago Bergen and Cornelia Evans, in railroad clerk who put his initials on all the packages he their book A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage accepted as shipment. (Random House 1957), said of the word O.K.: Whatever its origin, the use of O.K. as an informal "Originating in the United States, O.K. has spread to expression for something good persisted and spread, first almost every country on earth. There is something about in the United States and then abroad. This rapid spread the phrase as a term of assent or agreement that gives it may be at least partly attributable to the invention of the universal appeal. It is probably today the most widely used telegraph in 1844 and the comparative ease of tapping out single term in human speech. .. used a billion times a day the Morse Code equivalent of O.K. in place of the in informal speech and business notes and letters." considerably longer all right. Whence comes this word that has become, even much The most usual spelling is the one we have used above: more during the past 30 years, a universal term for assent O.K. other spellings are OK and okay (earlier okeh was also or approval? sometimes used). When employed as a borrowed term in Its origins are not certain. The most widely accepted other languages it is often spelled in one of the above ways; explanation is that it was the name of a partisan political however, it is also sometimes incorporated into the organization, the "O.K. Club," formed in 1840 to support spelling or writing systems of the foreign language. Thus the candidacy of Martin Van Buren, the eighth president we find, among many others, oke in Dutch and Indonesian, of the United States, in his try for a second term in office. O'keil in Russian, and in Chinese and Japanese, The letters O.K. stood for Old Kinderhook, the small town respectively, 0 and . in New York State where Van Buren was born. K Another possible origin of O.K. may be found in the Like many other English words, O.K. can be used as initial letters of a humorous spelling (in vogue in the late various parts of speech without change of form, always 1830s) of the phrase "all correct"that is, oll korrect. It is, with the meaning of approval or endorsement, or that in fact, quite possible that its widespread use in popular something is satisfactory, acceptable, or correct. It is used speech arose as a result of the combination of these two most often as an interjection: A. You'll do this now, won't early uses, both fostering the signification of "good" or you? B. O.K. As an adjective: He was hurt pretty badly when "favorable." he fell, but he's O.K. now or That's an O.K. idea; let's do it. Some linguists have thought that O.K. is from the As a noun: We'll have to get the boss's O.K. on this. As a Choctaw Indian word okeh, meaning "it is so." It has even verb: I'll O.K. your proposal i f you make the changes I been explained as the initials of Obadiah Kelly, a mythical suggested. As an adverb: The radio is working O.K. now.
A Few More Initial-Letter Words A-OK very definitely OK PC personal computer (a small computer for ASAP as soon as possible use by and individual or small business) B and B bed and breakfast (an establishment [as an PE physical education inn or guesthouse] offering lodging and RN registered nurse breakfast) RV recreational vehicle (a vehicle [as a motor BLT a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwhich home or trailer] equipped for use in camping CD compact disc (a small plastic optical disc, SOS 1. an internationally recognized signal of usually containing a recorded disc) distress in radio code used DNA deoxyribonucleic acid ( a nucleic acid especially by ships calling for help; 2. a call found in the nucleus of a cell and playing a or request for help or rescue vital part in heredity) SST supersonic transport (a supersonic trans- LP long playing ( a microgroove phonograph port airplane) record designed to be played at 33 1/3 TA teaching assistant (usually, a graduate stu- revolutions per minute) dent at a university, who teaches classes MVP most valuable player (in team sports such part-time but does not have regular faculty as football, baseball, basketball, etc.) status) PA public address (system)a system for VCR videocassette recorder (a videotape amplifying sound by means of micro- recorder that uses videocassettes) phones, usually for public speaking VTR videotape recorder
RA 77 American English: A colorful language
red-letter day: a mem- white hot: in a state of black-tie: requiring REDorable, especially white heat that guests wear semi- QREEN caught red-handed: important or happy formal attire, especially greenhorn: an un- white lie: a minor, found in the very act of day that men wear black trained, inexperienced, polite, or harmless lie a crime, or in posses- bow ties with or naive person redcap: a baggage sion of self-incriminat- wave the white flag: tuxe- porter at a railroad sta- green around the ing evidence give up; surrender; dos or tion gills: having a sickly dinner red-eye: a commercial yield appearance; pale redneck: a bigot or jackets airline flight between white-tie: requiring reactionary, especially get the green light: two distant points that that guests wear formal black market: the buy- from the rural working receive permission or departs late at night attire, especially that ing and selling of goods class authorization to do and in violation of legal men wear white bow something arrives ties with formal price controls; also, the early in the morning BLUE evening dress place where such buy- green with envy: very out of the blue: sud- ing and selling is done jealous red-faced: blushing or whitewash: (noun) denly and unexpectedly flushed with embar- anything, such as black sheep (of the green-eyed monster: rassment, anger, etc. talk a blue streak: talk deceptive words or family): a person who jealousy continuously, rapidly, actions, used to cover causes shame or red-carpet treatment: green thumb: an ex- or interminably up or gloss over faults, embarrassment because the kind of courtesy or ceptional apti- errors, or wrongdoing; of his/her deviation deference shown to blue-pencil: alter, tude for gar- (verb) conduct such a from the standards of persons of high station abridge, or cancel, dening or for cover-up the group growing in the red: operating atas in editing a blackball: exclude plants successfully a loss or being in debt manuscript PURPLE socially; vote against or true-blue: unwavering- paint the town red: purple prose: writing reject a candidate ly loyal or faithful celebrate boisterously, that calls attention to black box: an electron- PINK especially by making a itself because of its bluegrass music: ic device, such as a tickled pink: greatly round of stops at bars obvious use of certain country music that is flight recorder, that can pleased and nightclubs polyphonic in character effects, as exaggerated be removed from an sentiment or pathos pink slip: a notice of see red: become very and is played on unam- aircraft as a single plified string instru- dismissal from one's angry package ments, with emphasis BLACK job red-hot: very hot; cre- especially on the solo blacklist: (noun) a list in the pink: healthy; in ating much excitement banjo of persons under sus- very good condition or demand; violent; ROSE picion or disfavor; intensely excited or en- blue-ribbon: of rose-colored glasses: a pinkie: the little finger (verb) put a person on thusiastic; very fresh or superior quality cheerful or optimistic such a list new or prominence view of things, usually blackmail: (noun) pay- without valid basis YELLOW red tape: excessive for- v. ment extorted by have a yellow streak: mality and routine rosy: bright or promis- intimidation, such as be cowardly required before official ing; cheerful or opti- WHITEthreats of injurious rev- action can be taken white heat: intense mistic elations; (verb) extort Most of the definitions are heat; a stage of intense from The Random House money by the use of activity, excitement, Dictionary of the English threats Language, Second Edition feeling, etc. Unabridged. 85 78
a wallowA.7. am. THERE'S Music IN OUR SPEECHawmmiimfaslICJIIIi
SING THE BLUES IT S NOT OVER TILL THE FAT TUNE OUT to be disappointed or disillu- LADY SINGS ignore someone or something. I sioned. Jim is singing the blues to not speculate about something tuned out when the speaker started since he broke up with Elizabeth. until it is completed. Though her quoting statistics. policies were criticized, and her 'PLAY SECOND FIDDLE TO election in doubt, the candidate TUNE IN SOMEONE reminded the news correspondents set the television control to to be subordinate to someone. that it's not over till the fat lady receive a program. I tune in to the Carol resigned from the company sings. news every evening. because she was tired of playing second fiddle to George. CHANGE ONE S TUNE TUNE UP to change one's opinions or man- adjust an engine so that it runs PLAY BY EAR ner. John was critical of Anne's correctly. I needed a mechanic to to play a piece of music without judgment until she was made his tune up my car. looking at the notes. I can play all supervisor. Now he has changed his to adjust instruments in an the popular songs by ear. tune and agrees with everything orchestra so that each musician is to perform without prior prepa- she does. in harmony with one another. ration. We haven't had time to The orchestra tuned up before the prepare for the meeting. We'll have OUT OF TUNE concert began. to play it by ear. not in agreement. His suggestions were out of tune with reality. TO BEAT THE BAND MUSIC TO MY EARS very much; very fast. The police good news; information that \CALL THE TUNE car was speeding down the high- makes someone happy. When my make decisions; decide what is to way to beat the band. boss told me about my promotion, be done. A lot of people do not get it was music to my ears. along with Carol. She always JUMP ON THE BANDWAG- wants to call the tune. ON TOOT ONE'S OWN HORN; The person who is in charge is the take a popular position; join the BLOW ONE'S OWN HORN One who makes the final decision. group that has the greatest popu- to praise oneself; to brag. Mary is S/he who pays the piper calls the larity. The politicians jumped on always tooting (blowing) her own tune. the bandwagon when they saw the horn. She forgets that other people governor was so popular. have a role in our company's suc- MARCH TO A DIFFERENT cess. DRUMMER FACE THE MUSIC to follow one's own ideas rather accept the unpleasant conse- JAZZ SOMETHING UP than being influenced by the quences for one's actions. Jimmy to make something more interest group. Dick isn't going to support broke his neighbor's window with ing or lively. Tom jazzed up his us; he always marches to a differ- his baseball. Now he's got to face gray suit with a red tie. ent drummer. the music.
SOAP OPERA DRUM UP BUSINESS ALL THAT JAZZ an overly dramatic and emotiona influence people to buy some- et cetera; and so forth. The movie story broadcast regularly on the thing. The big advertisement in was filled with kissing and hugging radio or television. Mary's day today's newspaper should drum up and all that jazz. was not complete unless she saw business. her favorite soap opera. JAZZY OFF-BEAT lively; active. Phil and Mary throw unusual, not typical. He dressed in jazzy parties. Hours pass like min- an off-beat manner. 86 utes at their house. 79 Books in language
HERE ARE SOME IDIOMS THAT RELATE TO BOOKS: crack a book: to open a book to study (slang; almost always used in the negative). I passed that turn over a new leaf: to forget the past and start test without even cracking a book! again with the intention of doing better. I didn't want to keep making those same mistakes,, so in one's book: in one's opinion (informal). In my I decided to turn over a new leaf Now everything is book that's the very best way to do it. better. one for the books: a record-breaking act. I've never read someone like a book: to understand someone seen it done so fast. That's one for the books! very well. I know just why he did that; I can read him like a book. read between the lines: to infer something (from something); to see what is really meant by what is written or said. Don't believe everything you hear; you have to read between the lines. you can't tell a book by its cover: You can't tell what a person or thing is like from its outward appearance. He look like he'd be able to do the job, but I'm not sure: you can't tell a book by its cover. by the book: according to the rules (informal). He doesn't deviate from the prescribed procedures even a little bit; he always goes by the book. SOME WORDS OR PHRASES THAT CONTAIN THE WORD "BOOK" DO NOT REFER TO BOOKS IN THE USUAL SENSE: throw the book at: to charge or convict (someone) with as many crimes as possible. We thought he'd book passage (a flight, etc.): to arrange in advance get off with a lighter sentence, but they really threw for something; make reservations. the book at him. booking office: an office where tickets are sold leaf through: to look through (a book, magazine, (e.g., at a railway station). or newspaper) without reading it carefully. Why don't you just leaf through this book to see whether book of (matches, stamps, etc.): a collection of you want to buy it? things fastened together, having its own cover. have one's nose in a book: to be reading a book to book value: the value of something as shown on read books all the time. Every time I see him, he has bookkeeping records, as opposed to its market his nose in a book. value (or current selling price). hit the books: to begin to study; to study (slang). Ifbookmaker (or bookie): a person who collects bets you want to pass that test tomorrow, you'd better hit before a race and pays the winners. the books tonight. book: to leave depart (slang). I'm bored with this use every trick in the book: to use every method party; let's book. possible (informal). We used every trick in the book and we still couldn't get it done. 87 Food for thought
in apple-pie order: very well organized; in veryhalf a loaf is better than none: a proverb meaning good order (informal). Her desk is so neat; every-that having part of something is better than hav- thing's always in apple-pie order. ing nothing. I was hoping they would pay me more than that, but at least I have a job now; I guess half bring home the bacon: to earn a salary (informal). a loaf is better than none. I need to get a job; now I'm the one who has to bring home the bacon. know one's onions: to have a good knowledge about something one is supposed to know (infor- full of beans: full of nonsense; talking nonsensemal or slang). I think Mary will do a good job; she (slang). Don't pay any attention to what Frank says;really knows her onions. he's full of beans. salt something away: to store something for future not know beans (about something): to know noth-use (originally referred to preserving food and ing about something (slang). Sam doesn't knowstoring it). Mr. Smith is saving money to use after beans about using a computer. he retires from work; he salts away $50 every week.
not worth a hill of beans: worthless (informal).worth one's salt: worth one's salary. Any worker Their advice isn't worth a hill of beans. worth his salt would do a better job than that.
spill the beans: to reveal a secret or a surprise byin a stew (about someone or something): bothered accident (cliché). We wanted the party to be a sur-or upset about someone or something (informal). prise, but William spilled the beans and spoiled it. What's Bill in a stew about this morning? Did the boss find mistakes in his work again? beef something up: to make something stronger (informal or slang). We should beef up the programout of the frying pan into the fire: from a bad situ- by adding an advanced course. ation to a worse situation (cliché). Kim's situation is bad enough now, but if he quits his job, he'll go bread and butter: (a person's) livelihood orfrom the frying pan into the fire. income. I don't especially like doing this job, but it's my bread and butter. have other fish to fry: to have other, or more important, things to do. I just can't be bothered know which side one's bread is buttered on: todealing with these details; I have other fish to fry. know what is most advantageous for one (cliché). Richard will do anything to please the boss; hehash something over: to discuss something in great knows which side his bread is buttered on. detail (informal). We've already talked about that matter several times; there's no point in hashing it too many cooks spoil the soup/broth/stew: aall over again. proverb meaning that too many people trying to manage something simply spoil it. Several peoplefine kettle of fish: a mess; a very unsatisfactory sit- were trying to manage that program, and it didn'tuation (cliché). Our guests would arrive at any turn out well. I guess too many cooks spoiled theminute and all the electricity had gone off; that was soup. a fine kettle of fish!
chew the fat: to chat informally with close friendsthe pot calling the kettle black: (an instance of) (slang). We didn't get much done this morning. Ansomeone with a fault accusing someone else of old friend came by, and we spent a lot of time chew-having the same fault (cliché). How can Jim accuse ing the fat. Lisa of laziness? That's the pot calling the kettle black. the fat is in the fire: a proverb meaning that seri- ous trouble has broken out. The boss found outsimmer down: to become calmer. and quieter that the reports weren't turned in on time. Now the(informal). Things have been so hectic here this fat's in the fire! week; we hope they'll simmer down after the holi- days. 88 81 Food for second thoughts
(as) cool as a cucumber: calm; not agitated like (two) peas in a pod: very much alike; almost Even in the pressure of the competition, Herbert identical remained as cool as a cucumber. Bill and Steve have all the same likes and dislikes and ways of doing things. They're just like two peas in a have your cake and eat it too: to have the advantage pod. of both alternatives You'll have to decide whether you want to go the party take something with a grain of salt: to listen to a or study to pass the exam. You can't have your cake story or an explanation with considerable doubt and eat it too. Walter has a very persuasive way of talking, but you'd better take what he says with a grain of salt. go bananas: (slang) to go crazy (as) easy as pie: very easy; simple or become silly Making that dress with my new sewing machine was We were going along all right as easy as pie. until all these changes came upon us. When the last one happened, cut the mustard: to achieve the standard of we just went bananas. performance necessary for success (usually used in the negative) Henry hoped he'd be able to succeed in that job, but he (as) slow as molasses (in January): extremely slow just couldn't cut the mustard. When Ralph is doing something he likes, he's pretty quick, but in doing these other things he's slow as molasses in January. apple of someone's eye: someone's favorite person or in a pickle: in trouble; in a mess thing Now Sarah has really got herself in a pickle. She Little Audrey's grandfather talks accepted two invitations for the same evening. about her all the time. She's the apple of his eye. a lemon: (slang) something defective or unsatisfactory sell like hotcakes: to be very popular and sought Paul thought he was getting a after (cliche) bargain when he bought that car, Gerald should be happy about the success of his new but it turned out to be a lemon. book. It's selling like hotcakes. packed (in) like sardines: packed very tightly (as) sweet as sugar: very sweet or good-natured (cliche) The tour bus was so crowded we could hardly Melinda has a pretty disagreeable disposition most of breathe. We were packed like sardines. the time, but she can be as sweet as sugar when she wants to be. (as) flat as a pancake: very flat Linda was late to the meeting because she couldn't take the cake: to surpass all others, especially in drive her car. One of the front tires had a puncture some undesirable quality and was as flat as a pancake. Now that really takes the cake. I've never heard such an impossible demand! put all one's eggs in one basket: to risk everything at once piece of cake: (slang) very easy (cliche) Oh, that's a piece of cake. I can do If you want to be sure of being it without even trying. accepted by a university, you'd better apply to several different ones. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
89 82 Communicating with animals
busy as a bee eat crow: (informal) to be forced to admit to hav- blind as a bat ing made a mistake; to have to retract a statement, humiliatingly hungry as a bear like water off a duck's back: having little or no busy as a beaver effect free as a bird white elephant: a possession unwanted by the happy as a clam owner but difficult to dispose of; something dis- proportionately expensive with regard to its useful- sick as a dog ness or value smart as a fox ferret something out: to search out, discover, or innocent as a lamb bring to light happy as a lark like a fish out of water: out of one's proper or accustomed environment quiet as a mouse a big frog in a small pond: someone who is impor- stubborn as a mule tant or outstanding within a small or unimportant wise as an owl group strong as an ox wild-goose chase: an absurd or hopeless search for something nonexistent or unobtainable proud as a peacock eat like a horse: to eat a large quantity of food
000 0000 0000 o0 o o 0 0 straight from the horse's mouth: (informal) from 000 the original or a trustworthy source packed in like sardines: many people (or things) go ape over something: (slang) to be extremely being enclosed in a space, like a can (tin) ofsar- enthusiastic about something dines at a snail's pace: very slowly eager beaver: a person who is excessively diligent or overly zealous swan song: farewell appearance; the last act of someone or something for the birds: (slang) useless or worthless; not to be taken seriously weasel out of something: to evade an obligation or duty like a bull in a china shop: very awkward or clumsy cry wolfl to tell people there is great danger when rain cats and dogs: to rain very hard there is not chicken out: (slang) to lose one's courage and avoid wolf in sheep's clothing: a person who conceals his doing something because one is afraid evil intentions or character behind an innocent clam up: (slang) to refuse to talk or reply; refrain exterior from divulging information shed crocodile tears: to seem, hypocritically and df A GAGGLE of Geese. A SCHOOL of Fish. A TROOP of Kangaroos. A FLOCK of Sheep. A PRIDE of Lions. A insincerely, to be sad about something when one is PACK of Wolves. A HERD of Elephants. A not PARLIAMENT of Owls. A SWARM of Bees. A COLONY of as the crow flies: in a straight line; by the most Ants. A PLAGUE of Locusts. A CAST of Hawks. A CLOWDER of Cats. A DROVE of Cattle. An direct route (used in stating the distance between OSTENTATION of Peacocks. A COVEY of Quail. two points) 90 section 4
Limericks are light, nonsensical verses of five lines in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other and the third and fourth lines, shorter in form, make up a rhymed couplet. The rhyme scheme can be represented by the formula aabba.
Though we know that limericks are named after the city or county in Ireland, we do not have a clear idea as to why they are so named. One theory is that the name comes from a group of poets who wrote in Limerick, Ireland in the 18th century. Another attributes the name to a party game of making up a nonsense verse and following it with a chorus of "Will you come up to Limerick." The first limericks appeared in books published in 1820 and 1821, and the form was popularized by Edward Lear in a collection published in 1846.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Limericks, like poems, can be used in a reader's theater approach to give students the chance to playfully interpret a passage in a mock- dramatic oral recitation. In preparing your students to present the limericks included in this section, use the following guidelines suggested by John Barry in the January 1977 issue of the Forum:
1. Speak so that every word is heard. 2. Vary the speed of presentation. 3. Vary the tone of voice to fit the meaning of the message. (Some parts may be neutral in tone, some joking, some mock-serious.) 4. Vary the volume of voice. 5. Decide what the emphatic words are and emphasize them. 6. Pause in appropriate places. (Do not be afraid to keep the audience waiting; give them time to ponder what has been said and to speculate about what is to come.) Pause before emphatic words, before and after direct speech, and before any kind of climax. 7. Do not recite mechanically, or exaggerate the rhythm of the poem. 8. Do not pause automatically at the end of lines if the meaning does not require.
91 I. There was a young fellow named Hall, Who fell in the spring in the fall; `Twould have been a sad thing If he'd died in the spring. But he didn't he died in the fall.
IL There was an old fellow of Lyme Who married three wives at one time. When asked, "Why the third?" He explained, "One's absurd, And bigamy, sir, is a crime."
There was a young lady of Lynn Who was so uncommonly thin That when she essayed To drink lemonade, She slipped through the straw and fell in.
IV. There was a young lady of Bygur Who went for a ride on a tiger; They returned from the ride With the lady inside, And a smile on the face of the tiger.
V. There was a young lady named Bright Whose speed was far faster than light. She set out one day In a relative way, And returned home the previous night.
VI. There was a young girl, a sweet lamb, Who smiled as she entered a tram. After she had embarked, The conductor remarked, "Your fare." And she said, "Yes I am."
VII. An indolent vicar of Bray His roses allowed to decay. His wife, more alert, Bought a powerful squirt And said to her spouse, "Let us Spray."
92 85
VIII. There was a young bard of St. Anne Whose limericks never would scan; When they said it was so, He replied: "Yes, I know, But I make a rule of always trying to get just as many words into the last line as I possibly can."
IX. A decrepit old gasman, named Peter. While hunting around his gas heater. Touched a leak with his light; He rose out of sight And as everyone who knows anything about poetry can tell you he also ruined the meter.
X. A groundhog who lived in St. Paul Was the laziest groundhog of all. On the second of Feb He stayed in his bed, And spring didn't come until fall!
NOTE: According to legend, the groundhog (a small hibernating animal, also called "woodchuck") comes out of his hole on February 2. If the day is cloudy, he stays out and spring is "just around the corner." If the day is sunny and he sees his shadow, he's frightened backinto his hole; and there will be another six months of winter. St. Paul, Minnesota is known for its long winters, and groundhog watchers there might especially hope for an early spring.
93 86 Abbreviated limericks
In the following limericks the last word of the first line is a standard abbreviation. The last words of the second and fifth lines, which rhyme with the first line, are contrived abbreviations devised so that they bear the same relationship to the word (or phrase) they stand for as the real abbreviation 7 in the first line does to the word (or phrase) it stands for.
I. As he filled up the order book pp., He said, "I should get higher ww." So he struck for more pay: But alas, now, they say, He is sweeping the elephant cc.
II. A girl who weighs many an oz. Used language I will not pronoz.; For a fellow unkind Pulled her chair out behind. He just wanted to see if she'd boz.
After reciting some of these limericks, ask your students to work in groups to compose one of their own to perform in front of the class.
94 section 5
THIS SECTION HAS AN AUDIO COMPONENT. USE THE AUDIOCASSETTE. jokes and riddles can serve as short, simple dialogues for listening practice with students of various ages and proficiency levels. They have proved intrinsically motivating because they give students a reason to listen and guess/listen and laugh.
In American language and culture, many adult jokes and most children's jokes consist of "playing" with language. The humor depends on words or phrases that sound the same (or almost the same) but have different meanings, or else on a word that has several meanings.
For foreign language learners, the inherent risk in this word-play is that the double meanings will not be as immediately apparent to them as to native speakers; and without that sudden "light bulb" realization, the joke may not seem so clever or funny. When a joke has to be explained, that mental "click" or sudden enlightenment doesn't happen, and the joke falls flat.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Teachers should prepare their students with necessary vocabulary before telling the jokes or asking the riddles so students may have the fun of catching the humor without needing further explanation. Teachers can help their students retell the jokes by writing key words or phrases on the blackboard to help them recall the details. They should pay attention to how they can vary their tone of voice or use pauses to make their joke telling more effective.
For the jokes and riddles on pages 94-99, the teacher might stop before giving the "punch line" (the statement which contains the answer or resolution to the "problem") and ask the students to provide the ending or the answer. After getting their input, the teacher should give the answer provided in the text and compare it to the suggestions made by the students. The riddles on pages 100-102 will require some time for thought. Teachers could duplicate these pages or dictate each item. The students then work in pairs or small groups to determine the answers to the riddles.
Language notes have been included for "Listening to Jokes and Riddles" to explain what makes the joke or riddle funny.
95 kistening kes and
USE THE ACCOMPANYING AUDIOCASSETTE TO PRESENT THIS MATERIAL. 9 The class is studying astronomy. The A man in a restaurant said to a The little boy had just started school. teacher points to a photograph, and stranger sitting at the next table, When he returned home the first day, says, Do you realize that you are reading his mother asked, Does anyone know what this is? It's a your newspaper upside down? Billy, what did you learn today? comet. I learned to write. Of course I realize it. Do you think it's A what? easy? Oh, what did you write? A comet, Eddie. Don't you know what a comet is? I don't know. I haven't learned to read yet. 110 No. 6 I used to snore so loud I would wake Don't you know what they call a star myself up. The psychiatrist was asking questions to with a tail? What did you do about it? Sure. Mickey Mouse. test his patient. I cured myself. Do you ever hear voices without Oh? How did you do that? knowing who is speaking or where the Now I sleep in the next room, and I voices are coming from? The teacher is asking an arithmetic don't hear a thing. Yes, sir, I do. question: And when does this occur? Frank, if you found three dollars in 1111 When I answer the telephone. your right pocket and two dollars in A boy was tallking to his mother. your left pocket, what would you Gee, Mom, I'm really glad you named have? 7 me Albert. I'd have somebody else's pants on. A doctor had an urgent call. Why? Can you come immediately, doctor? Because that's what all the kids at My little son has just swallowed a school call me. fountain pen. The teacher is asking a geography ques- I'll be there right away. What are you tion: 11.2 doing in the meantime? Mary, where is the English Channel? After everyone was in bed the telephone Oh, I'm using a pencil. I don't know. We can't get it on our rang. TV. Is this one one one one? a No, this is eleven eleven. 4 A man bought a parrot that could speakAre you sure this isn't one one one five languages. He paid a thousand dol- All the kids were trying to impress one? lars for it. The pet-shop owner said that Grandpa, who had come for a visit. Yes, I'm sure. This is eleven eleven. he would deliver the bird that after- Timmy boasted, Well, I'm sorry to have gotten you up. I'm first in arithmetic, Grandpa. noon. When the proud owner got home, That's all right. I had to get up anyway. he asked his wife if the parrot had been The phone was ringing. Sally said she had come in first in the delivered. She answered, spelling bee. Grandpa asked little Billy, Yes, it has. What are you first in, Billy? JI Where is it? Well, I'm the first one out the door Sam, why are you standing in front of It's in the oven. when the bell rings. the mirror with your eyes closed? In the oven? But he could speak five Well, I want to see what I look like languages! when I'm asleep. Well, then, why didn't he speak up? 114 Why can you never starve in a desert? Because of the sand which is there. 96 89
Can you think of the answers to these riddles? ZIP Which is correct, "Six and five are Knock, knock. ISJ thirteen" or "six and five is thirteen"? Who's there? Boo. What am I? I may have the face of a 211 Boo who? great man or a great woman. When I What can you never eat for breakfast? What are you crying about? am very young, I make my first and only journey. The day I set out, I am 22 Elephant Jokes bright and colorful and look my very best. I travel from one city to another. A hungry donkey was tied to a rope 30 I may go halfway around the world to eight feet long. About thirty feet away How do you get six elephants into a reach my destination. This trip is my there was a pile of fresh carrots. The Volkswagen? great adventure, but within a few days donkey wanted to eat those carrots. I don't know, how? or weeks it is over. By the time I How did he reach them? You put three in the front seat and arrive, I am no longer very attractive. three in the back seat. My face is smudged with dirt and ink, 231 and usually I am thrown away with- A barrel weighed twenty pounds. But out a second glance. What am I? after a man put something in it, the barrel weighed only fifteen pounds. Why was the elephant looking 10 What did he put in it? through the window? I don't know, why? What am I? I have a head, but I do 24 Because he couldn't see through the wall. not have eyes or ears. I foam at the 12 mouth, but I never bite. I roar, but I What can you hold in your left hand, have no tongue. I lie in a bed, but I but not in your right hand? How do you talk to an elephant? have no back. I rise, I fall, I rush and Knock-knock Jokes I don't know. How do you? run, but I have neither legs nor feet. I You use BIG words. was born in the mountains, but I go down to the ocean whenever I can. I XX cannot keep still for a moment. I am Knock, knock. as restless as can be. What am I? Who's there? How does an elephant get out of a Dewey. telephone booth? Dewey who? I don't know. How? The same way he got in. What am I? Of all the things in the Do we have to go to school today? world, I am the shortest and the trit longest, the swiftest and the slowest. I 26 am the thing people waste the most. Knock, knock. How can you tell when an elephant is Yet they need me more than anything Who's there? going on vacation? else, for without me nothing can be Justin. Oh, I know that one. He packs his done. What am I? Justin who? trunk. 18 Just an old friend here to see you. XS I have seven letters. What's the difference between a mail- The first two stand for a boy. Knock, knock. box and an elephant's trunk? The first three stand for a girl. Who's there? I don't know. The first four stand for a brave boy. Who. You don't know? I'll never send you But all my letters stand for a brave girl.who who? out to mail a letter. What word am I? What are you, an owl? 19 28 Which is heavier, a full moon or a halfKnock, knock. moon? Who's there? Gopher. Gopher who? 97 Go for a long walk, and don't come back! U Notes on the jokes and riddles
1 5 A what?: The inclusion of the article in this question had just started: Notice the use of the past perfect had shows that he is not asking a repetition of the whole sen- started to indicate action completed prior to the past action tence but only for the part that came after "a", i.e., cornet. He that the story is telling about (returned). This short dialogue apparently did not recognize the word.Don't you ... : The includes four tenses used in typical ways; in addition to the teacher's questions beginning with the negative Don't imply two above, there are don't know (present) and haven't that the student should know the answer and that the learned (present perfect). teacher is surprised that Eddie doesn't know. Her first ques- tion (beginning with Does) was, on the other hand, a neutral 6 Notice the past progressive was asking to indicate a past question. action that was in progress when the joke began. (cf. jokes 2 #4 and #11, also the present progressive in #1, #2, and #3.) arithmetic question: a compound noun, a common without knowing = and do not know. structure in English, in which the stronger stress is on the first of the two words: arithmetic question. It means a ques- 7 call = telephone call. Many students today may never tion about arithmetic. (Cf. geography question, history ques- have seen a fountain pen, which is an "old fashioned" pen tion, multiple-choice question, etc.) left ... right: Notice containing a reservoir of liquid ink, used before the ball- the contrastive stress on the words left and right. have ... on = wear (I'd be wearing somebody else's point pen (or biro) was invented.just: Notice the use of pants). Notice that this is a separable two-word (or phrasal) this word here and in #5, meaning very recently. (The recentness is relative. In #5 it means within the last day or verb. One can say either I'd have on somebody else's pants or two. In #7 it means within the last few minutes.) I'd have somebody else's pants on. However, if the object is a I'll be pronoun instead of a noun, the two parts of the verb must there = I'll come (arrive) there. This expression is used often in conversation. be separated: I'd have them on (not *I'd have on them). What are you doing ... ?: The doc- if ... : Notice the past-tense verbs (found, would) in the tor means, of course, "What are you doing for the child?" The father answers as if the question were "What are you first and second clauses of this contrary-to-fact conditional doing without the fountain pen?" sentence. 8 3 geography question: a compound noun (see #2 above). parrot: a brightly colored tropical bird that can be taught to say (mimic) words and sentences. This joke is a play on two different meanings of channel. pet-shop owner: In actuality the stress patterns would be different. The Notice the double compound noun. A pet shop is a shop where pets (small domestic animals) are sold. A pet-shop English Channel (main stress on Channel) means the body owner is the owner of such a shop. would deliver: Notice of water between England and France. The English channel the past tense in reported speech after the past-tense intro- on a television set (main stress on English) would probaby ductory verb said. be a station that provides programs in the English language. that afternoon = the same afternoon (cf. He will deliver it this afternoon). TV is an abbreviation for television. got home = arrived home. had been delivered: Notice the past perfect in the 4 "if' clause to indicate time prior to the past tense introduc- kids: informal for children. Grandpa: a familiar or tory verb asked. Yes, it has: a typical short-answer form child's name for grandfather. In speech it is usually assimi- for Yes, it has been delivered. could speak: Use of the past lated to "Grampa." (Similarly, Grandma, or "Gramma" for tense indicates the husband realizes the bird is no longer grandmother.) had come: past-perfect tense, since the alive. In the oven?: The intonation indicates surprise, per- time of the coming was previous to the time of the past- haps disbelief and even horror. Well, then = in that case; tense "were trying" (past of the past).had come in first = if that is so. speak up = say something; not remain silent. had won, had been the best student. Notice the past-perfect tense, since the time of the coming in first was prior to the 9 upside down: the bottom (of the newspaper) is at the top time of the past-tense said (sequence of tenses in reported and vice versa. speech). spelling bee: a contest in which individual schoolchildren have to spell aloud words that are read to 10 them. The winner is the child who has made no mistakes so loud I : Note that the optional introductory that (so after all the other contestants have dropped out by mis- loud that I ...) has been omitted from the result clause as it pelling a word. often is in conversation.wake myself up: a separable two- word verb that must be separated here because the object is a pronoun.would: expresses habitual or repeated action
98 91
(like used to). do about it = do to remedy it. a thing = 22 anything. eight feet = a little less than three meters.thirty feet = a little less than ten meters. wanted to eat: Notice the 11 natural obscuring of the vowel in to: /ta/. Gee: a mild expletive that may express surprise or enthu- reach them = go to where they were.The answer: He just walked over to siasm or simply be used as an introductory word.Mom: a them. He was tied to a rope, but it does not say that the child's word for Mother (also sometimes Mama or Ma or other end of the rope was tied to anything. Mommy).Why?: Why are you glad? 23 12 barrel: a container shaped like a cylinder that bulges in to have gotten you up = to have caused you to rise from the middle, made of wooden slats. bed. Get up is a separable two-word verb, here separated twenty pounds = about 9 kilos. fifteen pounds = about 7 kilos. The around the object pronoun you (pronounced here, as often, answer: He put holes in it. with very little vowel sound before up: y'up). Notice that get up is used as an intransitive verb (= rise from bed) in the last 24 line of the dialogue. Because is understood between the Notice the contrastive stress on left and right. The last two sentences (because the phone was ringing). answer: Your right elbow. 14 Knock-knock jokes were popular in the 1930s. They have a This is a play on words: sand which is / sandwiches. set pattern in which the joke teller says "Knock, knock" (as someone knocking on a door requesting admission); the 15 responder says "Who's there?"; the joke teller says a word or set out = begin my journey. over = finished, ended. a name; the responder repeats the word followed by "Who?" smudged = streaked or stained with dirt. without a (This is the form regularly used to ask for someone's sur- second glance = without anyone even looking at me again. name when only the first name has been given; e.g., "That's The answer: A postage stamp. Mary." "Mary who?" "Mary Smith.") The joke teller then 16 adds a phrase to the word or name already given to make a Like so many riddles, this one depends on the use of sentencea play on words, in which the original word or words in a meaning different from the more common phrase is changed to a different word or phrase with the meaning that first comes to mind. Thus, the head of a river same pronunciation. Like so many jokes, especially chil- is its source or spring, its mouth is its terminal point, it roars, dren's jokes, these depend on homophoneswords or but not through a mouth or vocal cords, etc.still = quiet, phrases that sound alike but have different meanings. motionless. restless = unquiet, constantly moving. 25 as ... as can be = extremely. The answer: A river. Dewey: (1) a name, (2) a homophone for Do we. have 17 to: pronounced /hwfta/ as is usual in conversation; notice The answer: Time. also to /ta/ and today /tade/.
18 26 have = am composed of. stand for = represent; mean. Justin: (1) a name; (2) a homophone for Just an. Note The answer: Heroine. that the two are identical in pronunciation, including juncture. 19 full moon: the appearance of the moon when its whole 27 apparent disk is illuminated. half moon: the appearance This is a variant of the usual knock-knock joke. Here the of the moon when about half of its apparent disk is responder, following the pattern, says "Who who?"which illuminated. The answer: A half moon is heavier, because a sounds like an owl's call, "Hoo-hoo." This kind of joke full moon is lighter (more of it is illuminated). This joke should be used after enough regular knock-knock jokes have depends on the two meanings of lighter: (a) more fully been told to establish the pattern of response. (See also #29.) illuminated, (b) less in weight. 28 20 Gopher: (1) the name of an animal; (2) a homophone for Note the contrastive stress on are and is. The answer: Go for. Note that in unstressed position, for is usually Neither; six and five are (or is) eleven. pronounced /fart. 21 29 Notice the speaker's heavy Boston Irish accent, noticeable Boo-who: a homophone for boo-hoo, the standard especially in the vowel of can and the obscuring of the rat representation in English of the sound of crying. (Note the the end of never and for. The answer: Lunch or dinner. similarity to #27.)
99 Elephant jokes were popular in the early 1960s. Their appeal 34 depends on a sense of nonsense, blatant lack of cleverness, packs = fills luggage, boxes, etc., with clothing or other absurd obviousness, or such. People looking for the usual objects. trunk: (1) a large rigid piece of luggage; (2) the surprise ending, play on words, etc., sometimes find them long nose-like part of an elephant. completely unfunny. Like knock-knock jokes, elephant 35 jokes depend on a set pattern in which the second speaker mailbox: a large metal receptacle for the public deposit of plays "straight man" by asking for the answer or punch line. mail. In cities in the United States, these "boxes" are 30 positioned, usually on street corners, about two or three you: Notice unstressed pronunciation /ya/.get = put. blocks apart (= British postbox). You don't know: The intonation indicates disbelief or, perhaps better, mock 31 disbelief tinged with a childish contempt for the responder's Most speakers would not stress Why as strongly as is done ignorance. here. 32 Again, the How would not usually be stressed as strongly as this. B-I-G is said in a BIIIG way for humorous emphasis. 33 out: Notice the anticipatory contrastive stress. The in at the end might well be stressed a little more than it is here. telephone booth: a small enclosed space equipped with a pay telephone, providing privacy for the telephone user (= British telephone box). 93 More jokes and riddles USE THE AUDIOCASSETTE TO PRESENT THIS MATERIAL TO THE CLASS.
Little Timmy was visiting his grand- He: My dog is lost. Two boyswere on father. In the morning, Grandpa She: Why don't you put an ad in the a bicycle-built-for- decided to make a big pot of paper? two. They had a oatmeal. He put some oatmeal into He: Silly, that won't do any good. very hard time a bowl for Timmy. "Do you like My dog can't read. going up a steep hill, but they finally sugar?" Grandpa asked. got to the top. "Yes," said Timmy. "Doctor, whenmy hands are out of "Whew," said the first boy. "I So Grandpa put sugar on the oat- the casts,* will I be able to play the didn't think we'd ever make it." meal. "Do you like milk?" piano?" "Well, I helped," said the "Yes," said Timmy. "Yes, Mrs. Jones." second boy. "I kept the brakes on so So Grandpa put some milk on the "Oh goody. I could never play we wouldn't roll back down." oatmeal. "Do you like butter? before!" "Yes," said Timmy. 'molds used to set broken limbs Student: I don't think that I So Grandpa put some butter deserved a zero on this paper. on the oatmeal. Then he placed the "Waiter, is this apple pieor peach Teacher: Neither do I, but it's the bowl of oatmeal in front of Timmy. pie? It tastes like glue!" lowest grade I can give. "YUKK!" said Timmy. "Well then, sir, it's peach pie. "What's the matter? I asked Our apple pie tastes like cardboard." Teacher: Jerry, giveme the formula you if you like sugar, milk, and for water. butter and you said yes, so I put Teacher.: Can you tellme how fast Jerry: H, I, J, K, L, M, N, 0. them on," said Grandpa, getting light travels? Teacher: What kind of a crazy angry. Student: No, but I know that it gets answer is that? "You didn't ask me if I like here too early in the morning. Jerry: You told us water was H to 0. oatmeal," said Timmy. Teacher: Is thereany word in the Several men were English language that contains all sitting around the vowels? A boy was carryinga box and he bragging about Student: Unquestionably. met his friend. "Guess how many how smart their chickens I have in this box, and I'll give you both of them," he said. dogs are. "I've inventeda computer that is "My dog is so smart," said the almost human." What is that you can't first one, "that I can send him out to "How is that?" see but is always before you? the store for eggs. He sniffs around "When it makes a mistake it the boxes and refuses to accept any blames another computer." Why is "two plus two equals five" boxes unless they are fresh." like your left foot? "My dog is so smart," said the A very large lady second man, "that he goes out for finished her dinner If you threw a gray rock into the sea, cigars, and he always comes home in a restaurant and what would it beome? with my favorite brand." asked for dessert. Why are you tired on April 1? The two men turned to a third "I'd like a banana man who had been sitting quietly. split, with three scoops of ice cream, What belongs to you but it used by "Have you ever heard of any dog hot chocolate sauce, walnuts, and other people? that is as smart as ours?" asked the whipped cream." What comes down but never goes first man. "Very good, Madame," said up? "Well, only one dog, Mine." the waiter. "Would you like a cherry "How is that?" on top?" What question can't be answered by "My dog runs* the store where "Heavens, no! I'm on a diet!" yes? your dogs go shopping." What is the end of everything? 'manages
101 4 Time for a smile
1. One night a man came upon a boy looking for something under a streetlight. The man asked the boy what he had lost. The boy said that he had lost his watch. Since it was obviously not there, the man asked the boy if he was sure that he had lost his watch in that spot. The boy said that he had lost the watch at another place, farther down the street. The man then asked the boy why he was looking for the watch under the streetlight. The boy replied, "Well, sir, the light is much better here:' 2. A man was carrying a grandfather clock through the streets of the city. He was obviously doing it with a lot of difficulty. Finally, another man came up to him and asked, "Pardon me, it's none of my business, but don't you think a wristwatch would be far simpler?" 3. As I was walking along a street in a small town a man came up to me and asked, "What time is it?" I looked at my watch and answered, "It's five o'clock." "I must be going crazy," said the man. "All day long I keep getting different answers:' 4. The policeman rang the doorbell, not knowing quite how he was going to break the news. The door opened and a woman stood there gazing anxiously into the policeman's eyes. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your husband's new watch is broken." "Broken?" she said. "How did it happen?" The policeman replied, "A piano fell on him:' 5. What time is it when an elephant sits on a fence? Time to get a new fence. 6. Fill in the blanks with the correct word, each containing the same four letters.
A TIMELY VERSE
A clock is an
That's used to tell
(Though I'm a embarrassed
To such a rhyme.)
102 95 Joke time
1. Although the little boy was only three years old, he already knew the alphabet. His proud parents were showing off his accomplishment to a friend. "My, you're a smart young man," said the visitor. "And what is the first letter?" "A," said the little boy. "That's right," said the visitor, "and what comes after A?" "All the rest of them," said the little boy.
2. The teacher gave the little boy a tough problem. "Now," she said, "if your father gave you ten cents and your mother gave you twelve, and your uncle gave you six more, what would you have?" The little boy immediately slipped into deep thought. "Come on," said the teacher, "certainly you can figure out a simple little problem like that." "It isn't a simple problem," the boy said. "I can't decide whether I'd have an ice-cream cone or a hamburger?'
3. "How do you spell 'extravagance,' the teacher asked the little boy." "E-x-t-r-a-v-u-g-a-n-c-e," he answered. "No," she said. "The dictionary spells it e-x-t-r-a-v-a-g-a-n-c-e." "But you asked me how I spell it," said the boy.
4. A modern artist was showing off his work. He pointed to a blank canvas and said, "That is a cow grazing." "Where is the grass?" the visitor asked. "The cow has eaten it," the artist said. "Well, then, where is the cow?" the visitor wanted to know. "You don't suppose?' said the artist, "that she'd stay there after she'd eaten all the grass, do you?"
5. The summer visitor asked the farmer, "What happened to the other windmill that was here last year?" "There was only enough wind for one," said the farmer, "so we took it down:'
6. Little Susie, her parent's first child, didn't begin to talk until she was four years old. The first time she spoke was at the breakfast table, when she said, "This cereal has lumps in it." Her parents were astounded. They asked her why she had never said anything before. The child replied, "Until now, everything has been O.K."
7. A couple of country boys rented a boat and went fishing. In a remote part of the lake they found a spot where the fish were really biting. "We'd better mark this spot so we can come back tomorrow," one of them said. "O.K., I'll do it," the second one said. When they got back to the dock, the first one asked, "Did you mark that spot?" "Sure," said the second. "I put a chalk mark on the side of the boat." "You nitwit?' said the first. "How do you know we'll get the same boat tomorrow?"
10 3 8. The students in the composition class were assigned the task of writing an essay on "the most beautiful thing I ever saw." The student who, of all the members of the class, seemed the least sensitive to beauty, handed in his paper first, with astonishing speed. It was short and to the point. He had written: "The most beautiful thing I ever saw was too beautiful for words."
9. The lion was stalking through the jungle looking for trouble. He grabbed a passing tiger and asked, "Who is the king of the jungle?" "You are, 0 mighty lion," answered the tiger. The lion then grabbed a bear and asked, "Who is boss of the jungle?" "You, 0 mighty lion," answered the bear. Next the lion met an elephant and asked, "Who is boss of the jungle?" The elephant grabbed him with his trunk, whirled him around and threw him up against a tree, leaving him bleeding and broken. The lion got up feebly and said, "Just because you don't know the answer is no reason for you to get so rough."
10. A lady had hired an artist to paint her portrait. "Will it be pretty?" she asked. "Of course," said the artist. "You won't know yourself?'
g.ofPz°' A PLOS5 AKEP' SE ALL. RIGHT. gEINGNIN NO GEOFFRE WITH YOU MUST " I AM THE SAY NINTH LEER 1.. AAYms OF -SHE ALPHABET. ; C O ( ..:7/ c'V() ll
104 97
Brain teasers 1. How can you throw a tennis ball with all your strength and, without it hitting a wall or other obstruction, have it stop and come right back to you? (Throw it straight up in the air.) 2. How close a relative would the sister-in-law of your father's only brother be?
(Very close; it would be your mother.)
3.It takes 4 1/2 hours for a jet plane to fly between the east and west coasts of the United States. One plane leaves Los Angeles for New York at 4:40 o'clock, while another plane leaves New York for Los Angeles at 6 o'clock. Which plane will be closer to New York when they pass each other? (When they pass each other they will both be the same distance from New York.) 4. A rope ladder is hanging over the side of a ship. The ladder is twelve feet long, and the rungs onthe ladder are one foot apart. The lowest rung is resting on the top of the ocean. The tide rises four inches an hour. How long would it take before the first four rungsof the ladder are under water? (They will never be under water since the ship and the ladder both rise with the tide.) 5. There are ten black stockings and ten white stockings in a drawer. If you reach into the drawer inthe dark, what is the least number of stockings you must take out before you are sure you have a pair that matches? (Three) 6. Give a letter of the alphabet that, when you say it, sounds like the name of each of the following: a. a part of the body b. a body of water c. a drink d. an insect e. a pronoun f. a vegetable g. an exclamation h. a hint i. a blue bird
(a. I, eye; b. C, sea; c. T, tea; d. B, bee; e. U, you; f. P, pea; g. 0, Oh; h. Q, cue; i.J, jay)
105 7. What is it that occurs once in a second, once ina month, once in a century, yet not at all in an hour, or a week or a year? (the letter N)
8. Five automobiles were lined up bumper to bumper. Howmany bumpers were actually touching each other? (eight)
9. How many parts of the human body can youname that have only three letters? (there are ten) (eye, ear, rib, jaw, toe, lip, arm, leg, hip, gum)
10. How far do you have to count before using the letter A in spellinga number? (one thousand)
11. Name as many articles as you can think of that start with the letter S thatare worn on the feet. (shoes, socks, stockings, sandals, skis, slippers, skates, sneakers,snowshoes) 12. What continent do you see when you look in the mirror in the morning? (Europe You see you're up.)
MN& CORRECT *HAT IS WIRE. CORRECT USUALLY USED NOW, TELL AS A CONDUCTOR ME TI-1E- OF E LECTgIC UNIT OF \14\-\'' YvArr. rrj"' ELECTRICA roWER
106 99
Silly questions I. What is found in the very center of both America and Australia? (the letter IL) 2. What relatives are dependent on you? (your aunts, Uncles, and cousins. (They all need U.) 3. Wily is the letter T like an island? (Because it is in waTer.) 4. What part of London is in France? (the letter N.) 5. Which is the loudest vowel? (I. It's always in the midst of noIse.) 6. What is it that no man ever yet did see, which never was, but always will be? (Tomorrow.) 7. You saw me where I never was, And where I could not be; And yet within that very place, My face you often see. (Your reflection in the mirror.) 8. What is it that has a face, but no head; hands, but not feet; yet travels everywhereand is usually running? (A clock.) 9. How many birthdays does the average person have? (Only one.) 10. Nine crows sat on a limb of a tree. Farmer Jones shot three of them. How many crowsremained? (None, the surviving crows flew away.)
'7/ // /IN/4Y /0/DOES//A> /// 110714ER KANGAROO / HATE RA/ N ? / BECAUSE THE /// CHILDREN ' HAVE TO PLAY INSIDE. / I Rhyming words
The answers to these riddles are two words (an adjective anda noun) that rhyme. EXAMPLE: What is an overweight rodent? ANSWER: A fat rat! 1. What is a beautiful cat?
2. What is an unusual seat?
3. What is a comical rabbit?
4. What is an angry boy?
5. What is an irritated employer?
6. What is a bashful insect?
7. What is a large hog?
8. What is an uncontrollable boy or girl?
9. What is a joyful father?
10. What is a noisy group of people?
108 101 Riddle rattle (DON'T LET RIDDLES RATTLE YOU!)
I. The first two lines of each riddle serve as a definition for a specific four-letter word. Rearrange the letters of that word to get a new word, which is defined by the last two lines.
a. Something that shines in the sky at night Changes to rodents that gnaw and bite. b. A fruit that's green and often sour Becomes a distance you walk in an hour.
c. Something that frogs do very well Can be the sound of a ringing bell. d. An animal that eats a paper or can Becomes the cloak of a Roman man.
II. Teachers should write the problem sentences on the blackboard to let the students find the solution. a. By inserting the same letter 16 times in appropriate places, this jumble of letters will be transformed into a sentence of some sense:
VRY VNING RNST ARND IGHTN CNTS XCDINGLY ASILY. b. Their is four errors in this sentance. Can you find them?
1 69 102 Riddle metaphors
1. In the night a mountain, in the morning a meadow. What is it? 2. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? 3. What can you cut with a knife and never see a mark? 4. What is the best eavesdropper?
5. What asks no questions but receives a lot of answers? 6. What gets wetter the more it dries?
7. What grows bigger the more you take from it? 8. I saw a nutcracker up in a tree. What was it? 9. What goes up but never comes down?
10. If you feed it, it will live. If you give it water, it will die. What is it?
110 section 6
THIS SECTION HAS AN AUDIO COMPONENT. USE THE AUDIOCASSETTE. puzzle stories are "thinking games" that get students to think about what they are listening to or reading. In using puzzle stories for listening comprehension/speaking practice, teachers should direct their students to ask a series of yes/no questions as a means of discovering the solution.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Play the audiocassette so the students can hear the puzzle story that is being used for that day's class. Explain any vocabulary items that are new to the students. Play the story once more before getting them to ask their yes/no questions. Mario Rinvolucri in the April 1991 issue of the Forum makes the following suggestions to enhance the potential for cooperative learning within the context of the puzzle story: 1. Allow each student to ask only one question. If a student wants to ask more questions, that student can write the question on a piece of paper and hand it to another student who has not asked a question yet to ask on his behalf. 2. Allow the questions to develop naturally. If the solution is not found and the students are running out of questions, give them a useful clue and ask them to individually write down additional questions. The students have 2-4 minutes to do this while the teacher monitors their work. At this point, students who have not asked any questions are called on to ask one of the questions which they have written.
111 10 Puzzle stories
MR. JONES In the middle of the night, while Mr. Jones was asleep in his hotel room, the telephone beside his bed rang. Mr. Jones woke up, picked up the phone, and said "Hello." Then he put the phone down and went back to sleep. Can you guess who had telephoned him? a MAN IN THE BAR A man ran down the street, walked into a bar, and asked for a glass of water. The bartendergave him the water and pointed a gun at him. The man said "Thank you" and walked out of the bar. Why did he do that? tj LIARS AND TRUTH-TELLERS The people in a far-off land consist of two tribes: Liars and Truth-tellers. Both tribes speak thesame language, but the Truth-tellers always tell the truth, and the Liarsnever tell the truth.
An explorer going through that country came to a rushing river and saw three natives of that land on the other side. He knew their language, so he shouted across the river to the first man: "Are you a Liar or a Truth-teller?" The man replied, but his answer was lost in the noise of the rushingwater.
The second man had heard the question, and seeing that the explorer did not hear the first man's answer, he cried out: "This man said he is a Truth-teller. He is a Truth-teller. So am I a Truth-teller."
When the third man heard that, he pointed at the last speaker and said mockingly, "Donot believe him! He's a Liar; but I am a Truth-teller!"
PROBLEM: Which of the men are Truth-tellers, and which are Liars?
THE DOLLAR BILLS A man phoned his daughter to ask her to buy a few things he needed fora trip. He told her she would find enough dollar bills for the purchases in an envelopeon his desk. She found the envelope with "98" written on it. In a shop she bought $90 worth of things, but when itwas time to pay, she didn't have $8 left over, as she thought she would. In fact, she didn't have enoughmoney to pay for all the purchases. By how much was she short, and why?
I 1 2 105 ag THE CROSSING A farmer must transport his dog, a duck, and a bag of corn across a river. The boat he has to use is very smallso small that he can take only one of the three in the boat with him at a time. If he leaves the dog alone with the duck, the dog will kill and eat the duck. If he leaves the duck alone with the corn, the duck will eat up the corn.
What is the least number of trips the farmer must make to transport all three across the river safely?
Jai THE CAT IN THE WELL One day a cat fell down a well. The well was eighteen feet deep. When the cat tried to climb out, it found that the sides of the well were very damp and slippery. However, with patient determination it finally managed to climb out.
It took the cat one minute of climbing to gain three feet. However, after climbing for a minute, the cat had to rest for a minute before it could go on. During each minute of rest, the cat slid back two feet.
How long did it take for the cat to get out of the well?
47Tifinioninimia
100 Ili
4 THE CAPTURED TRAVELER A traveler had the misfortune of being caught by an enemy tribe and condemned to death. The only question that remained was how he was to be done away with.
According to tribal custom, the chief of the tribe was to make this decision on the following basis: The victim was told to make an affirmative statement. If the chief considered the statement true, the victim would be shot with a poisoned arrow. If the statement was judged to be false, the victim would be tied to a stake and die by fire. In any case, his death was apparently inescapableor so it seemed to everyone except the traveler.
He made a short statement which so perplexed the chief that it was found impossible to carry out the execution.
What were the words that the clever traveler must have uttered?
113 106
45 CROSSING THE BRIDGE Tom came to a bridge marked "Total weight 100 kilos." Now, Tom weighed 95 kilos, but he had three pineapples, each weighing 2 kilos. He couldn't throw them across the river, because the pineapples would be smashed to pieces. How did Tom cross the bridge?
THE Two STUDENTS Two girls appeared at the registrar's office of a college. The receptionist handed each of them a questionnaire to fill out. Each girl wrote the following facts on the questionnaire.
Each had the last name Smith. Each was born on February 29, 1960. Each was born at 376 East 53rd Street, New York City. Each had a father named John Smith and a mother named Gertrude Smith.
When the girls had completed the questionnaires they handed them to the registrar. The registrar read them and asked, "Are you two girls sisters?"
They replied, "Yes, we are." Looking up from his papers, the registrar saw the two girls and noticed that they looked exactly alike. He said, "You're twins, aren't you?"
They both promptly answered, "No."
Assuming that all the answers they gave were true, and that they had the same mother and father, how do you account for the fact that they were not twins?
.60 How CAN IT BE? Albert Amblefoot walked outside in a heavy rainstorm for half an hour without getting a single hair of his head wet. He didn't wear a hat, carry an umbrella, or hold anything over his head. His clothes got soaking wet. How could this happen?
4.4 A BOY AND GIRL As you are traveling in the kingdom of Jerafa, you come upon a boy and a girl who are dressed exactly alike. "I'm a boy," says the one with red hair. "I'm a girl," says the one with black hair.
If at least one of them is not telling the truth, which is which?
114 107
4a A SPRING WALK. A man lived at the southern tip of a small forest which was exactly circular in shape. His house was at the very edge of the forest. One fine day in the spring he decided to take a walk around the forest. He set out from his house, heading in a westerly direction, that is going in a clockwise direction, all around the forest and returning to his house. He found that it took him eighty minutes to do this, walking at a steady rate and making no stops along the way.
Another day a few months later, he again took a walk around the forest, but this time he went in a counterclockwise direction. Walking at the same rate as before and making no stops, he found that the trip took him one hour and twenty minutes. Can you explain why?
etMARRIAGE OR DEATH Ruling over the kingdom of Komosay was a very powerful king who had a beautiful daughter named Yamah. When Yamah fell in love with a poor peasant boy, the king was shocked and distressed. To show how fair he was, however, he promised to give the boy a 50-50 chance to marry his daughter by letting him choose one of two slips of paper. On one piece of paper would be written the word MARRIAGE; on the other, the word DEATH. Because of his great love for Yamah, the boy agreed to take this risk.
As he came near to the castle on the fateful day, he happened to overhear a conversation between the king and one of his attendants:
"Your Majesty," said the attendant, "how can you do this thing, and let that unworthy boy have a chance of marrying your daughter?"
The deceitful king laughed and said, "The way I will do it, he will have no chance. I will write the word DEATH on both pieces of paper. But of course, he will not know that; he will think he has chosen the wrong piece of paper."
When the boy heard that he was stunned and didn't know what to do. But then he thought of a clever solution to the problem. When the time came to choose, he put his plan into action. The next day he and the princess were married.
What was his solution?
115 108
4 itir BOTTLE OF WATER
Two travelers in a desert land have been given an eight-liter bottle of water. Since they will be going in different directions, they want to divide the water equally, so they will each have four liters. However, all they have with them for the purpose of measuring are two containers,one of which holds five liters, and the other three liters.
At first it seems impossible to make an even division of four liters each by using the three containers on hand, but they finally manage to do it. How do they do this?
116 section 7
THIS SECTION HAS AN AUDIO COMPONENT. USE THE AUDIOCASSETTE. ne kind of American humor is the "shaggy dog story" a long-winded tale that gradually works up to a surprise endingan ending that is outside the limits 0of reality or logic. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines a shaggy dog story as "a long, drawn-out anecdote depending for humor upon an absurd or anticlimactic punch line." The World Book Dictionary describes a shaggy dog story as "a story which relates, usually at great length, a number of unimportant incidents in building up to an unexpected or ridiculous climax."
One writer has compared life to the pattern of a shaggy-dog story: both have a lead- in, build-up and let-down. "Nothing turns out as expected, and in the end, the joke is on us" (Botkin, Treasury of American Anecdotes, p. 256).
Shaggy dog stories were reportedly told as long ago as the days of ancient Greece, but Americans tend to think of them as their own because people like Abraham Lincoln and Davy Crockett told so many of them.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Shaggy dog stories can be used for traditional listening comprehension activities or for oral practice involving retelling and dramatization. Before playing the recording (or reading the story themselves), teachers should treat difficult vocabulary items and provide background information that might help their students make the transition from the sensible world to the nonsense world of shaggy dogs.
Each of the seven stories included on pages 116-118 of this section can be used as a strip story activity. Teachers should cut each sentence into a strip and give one to each of the students. The students have one minute to silently read and memorize the sentence that they have been given before returning the strip to the teacher. Then within their group, they share their sentences with one another. Collectively they try to reconstruct the story. Once they have done this, the students recite their sentences (as they recall them) in the order they think most logical. The rest of the class and the teacher will determine if the group has put the sentences together correctly.
117 TEN SHAGGY DOG STORIES
G: I told you that he's well trained and very intelligent. THE INTELLIGENT DOG M: He certainly is. It even seemed as if he was enjoying the I'm going to tell you about an extraordinary thing that hap- movie. pened the other day. The day before yesterday, about eight o'clock at night, a young woman approached the box office' G: Oh, he did enjoy it. He liked the film very much. of the best movie theater in the city. She had with her an However, he liked the book much better.' enormous dog with a beautifully groomed coat.' She bought two tickets and went toward the door, followed by her dog. THE MOST AMAZING ACT IN THE WORLD The manager of the theater spoke to her, saying: Peter: Hello, John. What are you doing here? Manager: I'm sorry, miss, but dogs aren't allowed in this John: Hi, Peter. I've come to see Mr. Brilliant. theater. P: Mr. Brilliant, the famous theater agent?' Girl: But I have a ticket for him. J: The same 6 M: I'm very sorry, but animals aren't permitted. P: Then you've finally perfected' your act? G: You don't understand. This is a special case. My dog is so well trained and so intelligent that he's almost human. J: Yep," after two years of hard work, at last I have done it! I've finally succeeded in training an ant. M: I see that you have an exceptional animal, but ... P: So you've trained an ant! Amazing! G: I promise you that if there is any problem we'll leave the theater immediately. I assure you that this dog isn't like J:I have worked sixteen hours a day on this act. But Little any other dog you've ever seen. Andy is sensational . M: Well,' all right. I'll let you go in, since the theater is P: Yes, it's worth all that hard work to produce an act like almost empty tonight. Nevertheless, your dog will have to that, my friend! Just think! You're the first man in history behave himself, or you will have to leave. who has trained an ant. Several hours go by, and now the people are leaving the J: I'm sure Little Andy will soon be known throughout the theater. The manager sees the girl with her dog. whole world. M: I congratulate you. You were right; your dog behaved P: You're a lucky man. You'll be famous. You'll be rich. very well. I've been watching him, and it's amazing Secretary: Excuse me, Mr. Miller, you can go into Mr. how quiet he was. Brilliant's office now.
1. box office: a small office (in a theater, stadium, etc.) where tickets of admission are sold. 2. beautifully groomed coat: the hair or furof an animal that has been carefully cleaned and brushed. 3. Well: a word used to introduce a remark, resume the thread of a conversation, or simply gaintime to collect one's thoughts. 4. He liked the film ... he liked the book much better. When a person has seen a moving picture that hasbeen made from a popular book (having read the book earlier), he often comments, "I liked the movie, but I liked the book better." 5. theater agent: a personwho acts as a representative for actors and other performers in obtaining sponsors and occasions for their performances. 6. The same: Yes, that very person. 7. perfected: Notice that the verb perfect is stressed on the second syllable, unlike the adjective, which has a first-syllable stress. 8. Yep: yes (slang). 118 111
J: Thank you. (Pause.) Oh, miss, Mr. Brilliant isn't at his C: I'm still not sure how it happened. You know how shy I desk am with girls. I guess I got flustered' when I was with her. S: He's in the other office. He'll be back right away. H: Yes, I know you're shy when you're with girls. J: Look, Peter, this is perfect! I'll get Little Andy's act ready C: Well, I finally managed" to get up enough nerve" to ask while Mr. Brilliant is out of the room. her to dance. But I couldn't say a word to her. Nothing P: Good idea! He'll be surprised when he sits down at his came to me.' desk and sees your ant doing his act. H: Man! I would have thought of something to talk about! J: O.K. Little Andy is ready to begin. First, he'll stand up on C: When the music stopped, I was able to say a few words his front feet on top of this little ball. to her. P: Amazing! Can he really do that? H: But you didn't ask her name? J: Sure. And that's not all! He waves a flag with his hind feet C: I tried to.. .. Listen to what we said to each other, and at the same time. then maybe you can understand why I didn't get her P: Incredible! But ... I can't see what he's doing. name J: Oh ... I almost forgot the magnifying glass. With the C: Thank you very much for the dance. magnifying glass you can see the whole thing and really enjoy his act. Girl: You're welcome. I enjoyed it very much, but now I must go. P: O.K. Where's the glass? C: Oh uh ... miss! J: Let's see ... it was here in the suitcase ... G: Yes? Brilliant: Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I do for you? J: Good afternoon, Mr. Brilliant. I'm John Miller. I'm here C: Can I call you tomorrow? to show you the most amazing act in the world! G: Of course, if you want to. B: Marvelous! Show me what you have. C: Will you give me your phone number? J: All right! Take this magnifying glass ... G: You can find it in the telephone directory. B: Oh! uh ... there's an ant on my desk ...1'11 get C: Oh, of course, How stupid I am! him'... (Slap!) G: Now I must go. J: Ohhh! N00000! C: But ... uh uh I don't know your name. B: There! I got it.' And now, my friend, let's see this amazing act! G: You can find my name in the telephone directory too! Goodbye ! J: Ooohhhhh! THE HUNTER AND THE LION THE UNKNOWN GIRL When I was in Africa last year, a man told me about an Henry: Hello, Charles. incredible experience. The conversation went something like Charles: How goes it, Henry?" this: H: Fine, thanks. But what's the matter with you? Hunter: The other day the most extraordinary thing hap C: Oh, nothing. I was thinking about what happened to pened to me! me at Peter's party. Tourist: I suppose that you professional hunters have H: Oh? What happened? interesting experiences every day. C: I met the most beautiful girl in the world. H: I'm not a professional hunter; quite the contrary. My H: Really? What's her name? sport is to shoot at fixed' targets, a great distance away. C: Her name? Her name? I wish I knew! T: That seems like the best way to learn to shoot well. H: Do you mean to tell me that you don't even know her H: But it didn't turn out to be." I've decided to quit hunting name? How can that be? animals and go back to my own country.
9. I'll get him: I'll catch (or trap or kill) him (in this case, kill the ant). 10. I got it: I killed the ant.11. How goes it?: An informal greeting, meaning "How is everything with you?" 12. got flustered: became nervous and confused. 13. managed: was able (by making an effort). 14. get up enough nerve: become bold enough. 15. nothing came to me: nothing occurred to me; nothing came into my mind to say. 16. get her name: learnher name; find out what her name was. 17. fixed: stationary, not movable. 18. it didn't turn out to be: it didn't have that result; it didn'tprove to be so. X19 112
T: Oh, why? H: No. It was what the lion was doing that made me decide! H: I'll tell you. The other morning' I was walking through T: What was that? the jungle, and suddenly the blood froze in my veins!" H: Believe it or not, the lion was practicing short jumps! T: What happened? H: Less than three meters away, hidden in the grass, was an THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY BOY enormous lion. With a terrible roar, he leaped toward me with a great bound.' It's a cold winter afternoon. A car comes along a little- traveled" road. The motor is not working well, and it finally T: No! stalls."The automobile slows down until it stops. Two men H: I kneeled down, aimed my rifle, and shotboom!but get out, and they begin to talk: as I had no practice in shooting at moving targets at such a short distance, I didn't hit him. 1: What happened? T: And you're still alive! 2: I guess we ran out of" gasoline. H: Only by the grace of God. You see, the lion made such a 1: What awful" luck! It's ... it's cold here. Look, there's long leap that he went flying over my head, and landed nothing in sight." We can't make a phone call. And some five meters away from me. there's no traffic on this highway. T: What happened then? 2: We'll have to walk to the nearest town and find a gas sta- H: Well, the other hunters came running, and the lion tion." Let's go on ahead, because the last town we passed quickly disappeared into the jungle. was more than a hundred kilometers" back. T: And this experience cured you of hunting?" 1: But how do we know there's a town any closer in this direction? H: No. It was what I saw later that made me decide to quit hunting. 2: Yeah," you're right! We don't have any idea how long it T: And what was that? will take us to get to the nearest town. And I don't have a map of this area. H: Listen ... I returned to the camp and immediately began to practice shooting at moving targets at close range," in 1: Well, the best thing to do is walk to the nearest townif it order to be able to kill a lion if another one should attack isn't too far. On the other hand, if it's more than two me. One of the boys tossed tin cans into the air and I shot hours away, it would be better to stay with the car. at them ... 2: Wait a minute! Here comes someone. Maybe he can tell T: Yes, yes, go on. us how far it is to the nearest town. Let's wait till he gets H: It was going well, and I was beginning to get my confi- here. dence back. I believed that I already had the advantage 1:I beg your pardon," can you tell us how long it would take over the lion, and I was anxious to meet him again. us to walk to the nearest town? T: Then what happened that made you decide to quit hunt- 2: Do you suppose he's deaf? He just stands there and looks ing? at us without saying a word. H: Well, I'll tell you. As soon as I stopped practicing, I heard 1: Maybe he didn't hear me. I'll try to explain our problem strange sounds coming from the jungle. I heard a pum, to him again. Look, son," if it doesn't take more than two pum, pum hours to walk to the nearest town, we want to go there. If T: What was it? it would take longer to get there, we'll stay here in the car. H: I looked up over the fence, and there at the edge of the Now can you pleases tell us how long it will take us to jungle was the same lion. walk to that town? T: And just seeing it was enough to make you decide to go 2: He still doesn't answer. The best thing we can do is stay back to your own country? here.
19. the other morning: one morning recently (several days ago). 20. the blood froze in my veins: a metaphorical expression denoting great fear. 21. bound: leap; jump. 22. cured you of hunting: made you want to stop hunting completely. 23. at close range: at a short distance. 24.little-trav- eled: not having much traffic; not used by many travelers. (The opposite of little traveled is well-traveled, not * big-traveled.) 25. stalls: stops working; fails to function. 26. ran out of: exhausted (used up) the supply of; had no more. 27. awful: extremely bad; terrible. 28. in sight: thatcan be seen. 29. gas station: place where gasoline (petrol) is sold. 30. kilometers: This word is often pronounced kilometers (with major stress on the second sylla- ble). 31. Yeah: yes (informal). 32. I beg your pardon: excuse me (an expression used preliminary to asking someoneespecially a strangera ques- tion). 33. Look, son: an opening remark used to obtain the boy's full attention. 34. Now can you please ... : a restrained impatient utteranceintro- ducing a repeated request. 120 113
1:I suppose you're right. Come on, let's go back to the car. C: Simply that I belong to the same profession as you do. The travelers walk quickly toward the car, which is about L: Oh, well! Then there was an oversight.' My secretary twenty-five steps away. The boy remains silent, gazing at didn't make a note of that fact. I'm very sorry about the them intently. He keeps watching their movements while he mistake. calls to them in a loud voice: C: Oh, that's all right. It could happen to anyone. Country Boy: Hey, mister!" You can get to town in forty- L: So you're a member of my profession, eh?" Well, in that five minutes! case, I'll give you a discount of seventy-five percent. 2: Oh! Then you're not deaf, after all. C: That's better! Now that the bill is for a reasonable sum, C: No, of course not! I'll pay it right away. Here's the money. 1: Then why didn't you answer us before? L: Thank you very much. I hope that you'll forgive this mistake. C: How could I answer you, without knowing how fast you walked? C: Naturally. After taking the money, the lawyer sees his client" to the THE EXCESSIVE BILL door with great respect and courtesy, and says: L: But tell me, friend, where is your office? Once a man received an exorbitant" bill for legal services. He considered the amount excessive, so he went right" to the C: Oh, I don't have an office. lawyer's office. As I understand it, the conversation went like L: But you just told me that you had the same profession as I this: do. Client: Is this really my bill? C: Yes, I did. I'm a thief, too! Lawyer: Isn't this your name on the bill? THE HAYSEED AND THE TAXI DRIVER C: Yes bi L: Who handled" it? It's a dark, cold, dreary, rainy night. The taxi driver hasn't had a single fare" all day. When he goes by the entrance of C: One of your secretaries. The tall one with blonde hair the main railway station, he sees a young man from the and country" coming out, carrying two suitcases. "Aha!" thinks L: Yes, yes, Miss Thompson. She's very accurate. There's no the taxi driver, "here's an opportunity to make up for" the doubt that the bill is correct. rest of this bad day." He quickly parks the taxi and opens the C: But this bill is too much for the service I received from door. your office. I didn't even have the professional services of Driver: Where do you want to go, sir? a real lawyer. Hayseed: To the Continental Hotel. L: That doesn't have anything to do with it." Here the When the taxi driver hears that, his hopes of a profitable trip charge is the same, whether I do the work personally or a vanish. The Continental Hotel is scarcely" two blocks away. secretary takes care of" a routine matter such as yours. The most the hayseed" will give him is fifty cents, which is C: But ... but it's too much! the minimum fare." Only fifty cents. What bad luck! Then L: Sir, you take care of your business and I'll take care of the idea of taking his passenger by a longer route occurs to mine! hima route that goes all around the city and then back to the Continental Hotel. This he does, and after a long time the C: Obviously you don't know who I am! taxi finally arrives at the entrance to the hotel. L: And who are you, sir? Driver: You owe me fifteen dollars, sir. C: Now I understand this exorbitant bill. Hayseed: What? Fifteen dollars? Do you take me for" a fool? L: What do you mean? You're trying to cheat me.
35. Hey, mister!: an attention-getting phrase, shouted from a distance. 36. exorbitant: excessive; much larger than it should be. 37. right: immediate- ly; straightway. 38. handled: dealt with; managed; took care of. 39. doesn't have anything to do with it: has no bearing on the matter; hasno connec- tion with it; is not a factor. 40. takes care of: manages; handles; deals with. 41. oversight: unintentional omission or careless mistake . (Note thestrong stress on was, indicating a contrast with his previous assertion that there had been no mistake.) 42. eh?: an interjection added at the endof a statement to ask for confirmation or express inquiry. 43. client: customer of someone who performs professional services. 44. fare: paying passenger.(For another meaning of fare, see note 49.) 45. from the country: from a rural, or farming, area (as opposed to a city or urban area).46. make up for: com- pensate for. 47. scarcely: hardly; barely; only just. 48. hayseed: a person from a farming area not wise in the ways of the city. (Alsocalled yokel or country bumpkin.) People in the city sometimes try to take advantage of these rural types, who seem awkward and unsophisticated. 49. fare: price charged for a trip. (For a different meaning of fare, see note 44.) 121 114
D: How dare you accuse me... J: Would it bother you if I smoked a cigarette? H: You must think I don't know my way around. M: Not at all. D: But... J: I'd offer you one, but I suppose you probably don't H: Only last week I took a taxi from the station to this hotel. smoke, or drink, or... I know how much the trip should cost! M: On the contrary! I've always smoked my head off." And D: Oh . .. oh... all right. Now ... now look"... uh until a little while ago I went dancing every night. And as H: I have a notion to" call the police. for alcoholic drinks... D: Oh, no! Please don't do that! I have a sick wife and four J: Do you mean to say that you've done these things allyour hungry children. life? H: All right! This time I'll let it go." M: Of course. Why does that surprise you so much? D: Oh, thank you, sir. And you're right. The trip isn't worth J: I've always been told that doing those things is bad for the fifteen dollars"... health. H: You don't have to tell me that. I may come from the M: Ridiculous ! country, but I'm as smart as you city folks, and I know J: I suppose that you have another secret... a lot of fruit ... how much the trip ought to cost. vegetables"... a lot of exercise in the fresh air... D: Yes, sir. M: Don't be silly! I hate exercise in the fresh air, and I don't H: I just won't be cheated. I won't pay you a cent more than like any kind of vegetables. I paid the other taxi last week. .. thirteen dollars!" J: This is incredible!
THE SECRET OF A LONG LIFE M: What do you mean, incredible? What are you talking about? I'm John Doe. I'm a journalist with an important magazine. J: It's just that I can't understand how you've been able to The other day I saw a white-haired man sitting on the porch live like that and to have lasted so long. Tell me, how old in front of his house. I could see the wrinkles in his face and are you?' neck, and his wrinkled hands. Articles on the secrets of living to an advanced age are always popular with our readers, so I M: Me? I'm twenty-seven. Why? decided to pursue" this story and discover the secret of this man's long life. As I approached him, I said: THE DOCTOR AND THE PAINTER John: Sir, would it bother you if I talked with you for justa A famous painter was very worried about his sick dog, which moment? had a badly inflamed" throat. But he knew that a doctor Man: Not at all. On the contrary" it would delight me. I get wouldn't examine a dog. So, in order to get a specialist to very bored sitting here, even for a short time. Until a come to his house to look at his dog, he decided to pretend little while ago I lived a full and active life withouta that he himself was the one who was ill. This artist was avery moment's rest. selfish man, so in spite of" the fact that it was past midnight, he called a prominent" throat specialist." J: Well," they say that a lot of activity helps one to livea long time. Doctor: Hello! This is Dr. Knowitall. M: That's true, very true. I still feel very well, althoughmy Artist: Oh, Doctor Knowitall, you must come to my house step has slowed down a little. immediately. The conversation continued in that vein60 for a while. D: Sir! I am a famous throat specialist. I only see patients Although I try to be very considerate about obtaining during the day, and by appointment. information from older people, it seemed to me that it would A: But ... but doctor, I'm the celebrated69 portrait painter, now be all right to begin to ask some discreet6' questions. Raphael DePicter, and this is an emergency.
50. take me for think I am. 51. don't know my way around: don't know how thingsare done. 52. look: a stalling and calming word meaning some- thing like "Let me explain" or "Please try to understand" 53. havea notion to: feel inclined to; think I should 54. let it go: forget it; overlook it; excuse it. 55. The trip isn't worth fifteen dollars: notice the strong stresson isn't, indicating confirmation of the hayseed's implied negative statement. 56. thirteen dollars: Note the contrastive stress on thirteen (as against fifteen dollars). The surpriseelement in this story is that the hayseed ends up cheating himself. In most stories that begin as this one does, the man from the country outwits the "city slicker."57. pursue: follow up; try to find out more about. 58. on the contrary: quite the opposite. 59. well. See note 3.60. in that vein: in thatway; along those lines. 61. discreet: proper; inoffen- sive; prudent 62. smoked my head off: smoked a great deal 63. vegetables: Notice that this wordhas only three syllables. 64. How old are you? Note the strong stress on are, indicating anticipation of an answer different from what might normallybe expected. (For the neutral question How old are you? the major stress falls on old.) 65. inflamed: red and painful. 66. in spite of: despite. 67. prominent:well-known; famous. 68. throat specialist. This compound noun regularly carries the strongest stress on the first element: throat specialist. 122 115
D: I've had a busy day, and I have to operate' very early P: Please don't try to soften the blow." Tell me the truth, no tomorrow morning. Can't you wait until tomorrow matter what" it is. afternoon? D: I'm convinced that we can keep you alive. Yes, and I can A: Oh, no, doctor! That would be too late. I beg you, please even say that you are definitely going to get better! come right away.' And hurry! P: Wonderful! But I don't understand how you can be so D: Very well." Since you are Raphael DePicter, I'll make an sure. Up till now all the other doctors have told me that exception." I'll come right away. the disease is fatal. How can you be sure that I'm going to When Doctor Knowitall arrived at Mr. DePicter's house and get better? saw that the patient was not the artist but his dog, he was D: I'm a scientist in the art of medicine. I've studied your furious. But immediately he thought of a plan to get even." case carefully. Hiding his anger, he said calmly: P: Yes, yes ... I know all of that, doctor... D: I can't tell you right now" what's the matter" with your D: In the latest medical journals they've published the dog, but this medicine will alleviate it. I'll study the case results of a long study on this disease. and call you when I've made the diagnosis. P: And what does this study show? At midnight of the following day Mr. DePicter was awakened when his telephone rang. D: In your case, I'll continue the present treatment and I'll trust in the scientifically proven statistics. A. Who is it? P: And do these statistics show that I'm going to get better? D: This is Doctor Knowitall. Mr. DePicter, come quickly to my house. It's urgent! D: Exactly! It's been proven that ten percent of all the A: But doctor, it's past twelve! Besides, early tomorrow patients with this disease get better. morning I have an appointment to paint the portrait of a P: What? Only ten percent? But that's terrible! Does that very important person. Can't you wait until tomorrow mean that I have only one chance in ten of getting better? afternoon? Are you trying to deceive me when you tell me that I'm D: Oh, no! That would be too late! And what I have to say is going to get better? too important to discuss over the telephone. Please hurry ! D: Calm yourself! Calm yourself? You don't understand Mr. DePicter, thinking it was about his dog's illness, jumped these things. It's a scientific problem. out of bed, got dressed, and ran to the doctor's house. P: Please, doctor, explain. A: Doctor, doctor! What's the matter? Why did you call me D: All right. As you will see, there are other factors that have at this time of night?" to be considered. D: I'm very concerned about something, and I must know P: What other factors? Please, tell me! the answer right now. D: Listen to me. You are the tenth patient that I have treated A: All right, all right. What is it? for this disease ... D: Please tell me: how much would you charge to paint my P: Yes, yes, go on. So I'm the tenth patient that you've treat- house? ed for this disease.... I still don't understand. D: Simple mathematics, my good man. You, being the tenth, THE PATIENT AND THE DOCTOR have to get well," because the other nine died! A very optimistic doctor is standing beside the bed of one of his patients," who has been in the hospital for several weeks. The worried patient asks him: Patient: Am I going to get better," doctor? Doctor: As you know, you are still quite ill. P: Yes, I know, doctor, I know. But please don't let me go on' with ... with false hopes. Tell me the truth! D: I've been studying your case in my medical books, and I've done a lot of research on your problem.
69. celebrated: widely known; famous. 70. operate: perform surgery. 71. right away: immediately. 72. verywell: all right. 73. make an exception: be willing to do something different from the usual rule or pattern. 74. get even: take revenge. 75. right now: atthis time. 76. what's the matter: what's wrong. 77. at this time of night: at this very late hour, 78. patient: someone underthe care of a doctor. 79. get better: improve in health. 80. go on: continue. 81. soften the blow: make a sudden unexpected shock or calamity seem less severe. 82. no matterwhat: whatever. 83. get well: become well. 123 Shaggy Dogs for strip stories
A. THE POKER GAME (Strips for 9 students)
A man went away for the weekend.
He arrived rather late, after dinner.
The other members of the house partywere all sitting around in the living room.
At one end of the room a game of poker was inprogress.
One of the players was a dog.
After he had been introduced all around, theman said to his host:
"What a wonderfully intelligent dog to be able to play poker!"
"Well, he's not a very good player, really, " replied the host.
"Whenever he gets a good hand, he wags his tail."
B. THE DOG AND PARROT SHOW (Strips for 10 Students)
A dog and a parrot are brought into a barone day by a regular customer.
He orders a drink and says to the dog, "Now Fido!"
And the dog starts a lively conversation with the bird.
After five minutes the performance ends.
One of the other customers turns to theowner of these remarkable creatures:
"Say! That's really something." He marvels.
"Well, it's not as cute as all that," theowner says.
"You see, the act isn't on the level."
"What do you mean?" the customer asks. "The dog is a ventriloquist." 124 117
C. CHESS (Strips for 7 Students)
A man went to visit a friend in Chicago.
He was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog.
He watched the game in astonishment for a while.
"I can hardly believe my eyes," he exclaimed.
"That's the smartest dog I've ever seen."
"Aw, he's not so smart," the friend replied.
"I've beaten him three games out of five."
D. THE DONKEY (Strips for 6 Students)
A professor tried to train his donkey to get along without eating.
Each day he reduced the amount of hay he gave the animal.
From one bale of hay a day, he reduced the donkey's intake to nothing.
The donkey dropped dead of starvation.
"What an irreplaceable loss!" the professor lamented.
"Just when he had learned not to eat, he died."
E. THE LATE FRIEND (Strips for 6 Students)
A professor met his friend on the street one day.
"I heard you had died," he exclaimed.
The friend smiled at these words.
"But you see I am alive," he said.
"That's impossible," decided the professor.
"The man who told me is much more reliable than you are."
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F. THE AMAZING PARROT (Strips for 10 Students)
A man saw an amazing parrot in a pet shop one day.
It could recite lines from Hamlet and sing arias from Tosca.
Stunned by its intelligence, the man paid the shopowner $1000 for the remarkable bird.
When he got home, he waited for the bird to entertain him.
After one month the parrot had not uttered a word.
Upset, the man returned to the pet shop.
The shopowner reminded the man that the parrot was reciting Shakespear when he bought it.
"I'll take the bird back and out of the goodness of my heart I'll even refund you half of what you paid."
Reluctantly, the man agreed and left the shop $500 poorer than he was one month earlier and without the bird.
Then the parrot turned to the shopowner and said, "Don't forget, my share is one-third!"
G. THE SMOKER (Strips for 7 students)
A tobacco-company executive traveled the country to find long-time smokers who were in good health.
He found one man who had smoked a pack a day for the last 30 years.
"If you do a commercial for us telling everyone how strong and healthy you are, we'll pay you $20,000."
The smoker gladly agreed and asked when they'd do the filming.
The executive told him to be ready at 10 am the next morning.
Disappointed, the smoker shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't do it thenI don't stop coughing until noon."
126 section 8
THIS SECTION HAS AN AUDIO COMPONENT. USE THE AUDIOCASSETTE. Folk wisdom drawn from countries around the world provides an excellent source of listening comprehension material for EFL students. In the fables attributed to the Greek slave Aesop, animals speak and act like humans displaying the human condition in a way that transcends international boundaries. The concluding stories come from Nesredin Hodja, a Turkish figure who combines the qualities of sage and fool in dispensing folk wisdom.
TEACHING TECHNIQUES. Teachers may wish to devise comprehension questions or doze activities to accompany each story included in this section. Students may be asked to restate the folk wisdom contained in these stories. Teachers should ask their students to share any stories from their own culture which express similar bits of wisdom.
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127 120 Aesop's fables
1. SOUR GRAPES A fox, who hadn't had a square meal in days, slipped into a vineyard one morning. He saw a juicy, ripe bunch of grapes hanging from a vine overhead. He jumped for them, but they were just out of reach. "Oh, well," he panted. "Those grapes were probably sour, anyway."
2. THE STUPID DONKEY A hungry lion slipped out of the forest into a barnyard one evening. When he saw a plump donkey, his mouth began to water. But just as he was ready to jumpon the donkey, a rooster crowed. He was frightened, and so turned away into the forest again. "Hey, look at that cowardly lion," the donkey brayed to the rooster. "I'm going to chase him." And the donkey ran after the lion. "Wait!" the rooster shouted, "you don't know that..." But it was too late. The lion had turned and killed the donkey. "Ah, my poor, stupid friend," the rooster said as he watched the lion eating the donkey. "The lion wasn't afraid of you, but of my crowing."
3. THE DONKEY AND THE LION'S SKIN A donkeynot the same one as in the second story, but one just as stupidfounda lion's skin in the forest one afternoon. He put it on and went to the barnyard to frighten the other animals. "Hee-haw, I'm a lion," the donkey brayed ata rooster. "That's a pretty stupid joke," the rooster said. "Even thoughyou look like a lion, anyone can tell you're a donkey as soon as you open your mouth."
4. THE DOVE AND THE HAWKS A chicken grower set a trap for hawks that had been attacking his flock. One afternoon he found a dove in his net. "Let me go. I"m not a hawk," the dove begged. The chicken grower agreed, "Maybe not. But I'm not going to let you go. You'reas bad as they are, if you're with them. After all, birds ofa feather flock together."
5. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER While a grasshopper was taking it easy in the shade one hot summer's day,an ant struggled in the sun with a grain of rice that he was carrying out to his nest. "Hey, Mister Ant," the grasshopper said. "Why don't you take it easy, like me? Youcan work tomorrow." The ant paused. "I'm saving up food now for the cold winter ahead, and if you know what's good for you, you'll do the same," he said. Threeor four months later, winter came and it was very cold. While the ant was snug in his nest, the starving grasshopper shivered under a pile of dead leaves and wished that he'd paid attention to the ant's advice.
6.The Stag's Antlers A stag admired his reflection in a pool of water one day. "My! But my antlersare very handsome," he thought. "Just look at my poor skinny legs, though. They lookas if
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they could hardly bear my weight." Just then a lion leaped from the bushes at the edge of the water hole, and the frightened stag ran across the open field. He could run much faster than the lion, who was quickly left behind. But when the stag ran into the forest at the other side of the field, he ran into trouble. His antlers became tangled in some vines hanging from a tree. As the lion was catching up with him, the stag struggled frantically to free himself, and thought: "What a fool I am! As long as I could use my skinny legs, I could outrun that lion. But here I am now, trapped by the antlers I admired so much."
7.THE LION AND THE MOUSE A lion who was stalking a deer in the forest, almost stepped on a mouse one morning. "Please Mister Lion," squeaked the mouse. "Don't eat me. Why, I'd barely be a mouthful for you." "You're right." said the lion, and he carefully stepped around the tiny creature. Later that same day, the mouse found the lion trapped in a net which had been set by hunters to capture wild animals. With his sharp teeth, the mouse soon gnawed through the tangles in the net, and the lion was free. "Thanks a lot, little friend. Now, how can I repay you?" the lion asked. "Never mind," the mouse said. "After all, you let me go free earlier today, and one good turn deserves another."
8. PLEASING EVERYONE Since an old man and his son wanted to sell their donkey at the village market far away from their home, they had to take the animal along a dusty country road to the town. They had just left their home when a neighbor called to them. "Why are both of you walking, when you have a donkey?" the neighbor asked. "One of you ride, and the other can lead him." "That's a good idea," the old man said, and put his son on the donkey while he continued to lead.
They were about halfway to town when three women standing by the side of the road scolded the boy. "You should be ashamed of yourself, riding while your father has to walk," one of the women said. "Is the donkey so weak that he can't carry both of you?"
You're right, I guess," the old man said. "Let me get on behind you, son." The donkey, carrying the old man and his son, had almost reached the town when a group of villagers began laughing at them. "You should be carrying that poor beast, instead of making him carry both of you," one of the villagers said. "I suppose so," the old man said reluctantly as he and his son got down. With the help of the still laughing villagers, they tied the animal to a pole so that they could carry it the rest of the way to the market. But as they were crossing the bridge just before the marketplace, the donkey kicked loose from the pole and fell into the stream and drowned. "Our donkey is dead now, and it should teach us," the old man said sadly to his son. "Whenever we try to please everyone, we lose." 129 122 Nesredin Hodja stories
1. THE DONKEY BRAYS One day a friend visited Hodja and said "Hodja, I want to borrow your donkey." "I'm sorry," replied Hodja, "but I've already lent it to someone else." Assoon as he said this, the donkey brayed.
"But Hodja, I can hear the donkey! It's in the stable!" Shutting the door in his friend's face, Hodja told him with dignity, "A man who believes the word ofa donkey above my word doesn't deserve to be lent anything!"
2. THE INTERRUPTED DREAM While taking a nap on the porch, one hot summer day, Hodja dreamed thata stranger promised to give him ten pieces of gold. The stranger placed them in Hodja's hand one by one until he reached the tenth piece, which he hesitated to give him.
"Come on! What are you waiting for?" said Hodja. "You promisedme ten!" Just then he woke up. He immediately looked at this hand and saw that itwas empty. He quickly shut his eyes again, stretched out his hand and said, "All right, I'll settle for nine!"
3. THE NOISE One day his neighbors asked Hodja, "We heard some noises in your house last night and we wondered what was happening." Hodja told them, "My cloak fell down the stairs."
They replied, "But Hodja, a cloak is just made out of cloth. It couldn't have made that much noise!" Hodja answered impatiently, "Well, I was in it!"
4. ATTAINING WISDOM Once someone asked Hodja, "How can one attain wisdom?" Hodja replied, "Always listen attentively to what the wise and learned men tell you. And whenyou are speaking to others, listen carefully to what you are saying!"
5. QUESTIONS One day a neighbor inquired of Hodja, "Why do you always answera question with another question?" He replied, "Do I?"
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6. SUN AND MOON Hodja entered the tea shop one day and proclaimed profoundly, "The moon is more useful than the sun." "Why, Hodja?" they inquired. "Because we need the light more during the night when it is dark than during the daytime when it is light!"
7. A BARGAIN The Hodja always wanted to learn something new, and one day he had a sudden inspiration to learn how to play the lute. He approached a music teacher and asked him, "How much do you charge for private lute lessons?" "Three silver pieces for the first month; after that one silver piece a month." "Oh, great!" exclaimed Hodja. "Then I'll start with the second month."
8. LOST One day Hodja lost his donkey. While looking for it he was also rejoicing. When the people saw him they couldn't figure out why he was so happy. When they asked him the reason, Hodja told them, "I'm happy because I wasn't riding the donkey when it got lost. If I had been, I'd be lost now, too!"
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131 answer key section 1: word games Letter power Add a letter: (Note: These are only some of the possible answers; some other words could also be correct answers.) A: 1. got; ago. 2. oily; boil, soil, toil. 3. army; farm, harm. 4. heart; shear. 5. hate; that, what, chat. 6. note; knot. B: 1. every; never, sever, lever; severe. 2. care, cart, card; scar; scare, scarf. 3. eighty; weight, height; weighty. 4. ink; tin, pin; pint, tiny, line. 5. one; ton, son; gone, tone. 6. pint, pine, pink; spin; spine. 7. ate; hat, cat, rat, mat, sat; late, rate, mate, hate. 8. her, hen; she, the; then, when. 9. and, any; man, can, pan, tan; cane, bank, want. 10. ally; wall, call, tall, fall, ball; tally, rally. 11. earn; hear, tear, wear, year; learn, heart, weary, yearn. 12. cane; scan; scant.
Change the first letter: 1. were, here. 2. low, now. 3. year, dear 4. sat, eat 5. ear, war 6. sir, air 7. master, faster 8. hot, not 9.car, far 10. mister, sister
A T-party: 1. here, there. 2. hat, that. 3. rip, trip. 4. his, this. 5. ear, tear. 6. old, told. 7. error, terror. 8. all, tall. 9.rain, train. 10. urn, turn
Change a letter: 1. hat, cat. 2. house, mouse. 3. boat, goat. 4. lamp lamb. 5. pie, pig. 6. pen, hen. 7. half, calf. 8. pear, bear.
Change the last letter: 1. king, kind. 2. not, now. 3. mare, mark. 4. fear, feat. 5. skim, skit. 6. fool, food. 7. gram, gray. 8. leaf, leak. 9. peak, pear. 10. maid, mail. Hidden words Animals in hiding: 1. bear, 2. camel, 3. cat, 4. cow, 5. deer, 6. dog, 7. fish, 8. frog, 9. goat, 10. horse, 11. lion, 12. monkey, 13. ox, 14. snake, 15. tiger, 16. armadillo, 17. manatee, 18. bison, 19. dingo, 20. egret, 21. falcon, 22. walrus, 23. koala, 24. yak
Hidden colors: 1. brown, 2. black, 3. green, 4. pink, 5. rose, 6. white, 7. yellow, 8. orange, 9. purple, 10. violet, 11. gray, 12. scarlet.
A numbers game: I. Seen: A. 10; B. 2; C. 5; D. 4; E. 7; F. 1; G. 6; H. 9; I. 20; J. 1,000; K. 40; L.1,000,000,000; M. 70. II. Heard: A. 2; B. 4; C. 8; D. 1; E. 9; E 15; G. 3; H. 10; I. 6; J. 11.
Hidden cities: 1. Tokyo, Japan. 2. Warsaw, Poland. 3. Athens, Greece. 4. Ankara, Turkey. 5. Oslo, Norway. 6. Paris, France. 7. Cairo, Egypt. 8. Washington, USA. 9. Rabat, Morocco. 10. Bonn, Germany. 11. Amman, Jordan. 12. London, England. 132 126
Word building The ANT family: 1. elephant, 2. distant, 3. giant, 4. servant, 5. pleasant, 6. constant, 7. elegant, 8. participant, 9. infant, 10. dormant, 11. brilliant, 12. vacant, 13. instant, 14. abundant, 15. immigrant (emigrant), 16. significant, 17. plant, 18. dominant, 19. hesitant, 20. inhabitant.
An ARTful puzzle: 1. part, 2. chart, 3. start, 4. smart, 5. heart, 6. depart, 7. cart, 8. impart, 9. tart, 10. thwart, 11. braggart, 12. quart (1 quart = .94 liter).
Four letters in common: 1. might, 2. sight, 3. tight, 4. light, 5. right, 6. night, 7. fight, 8. eight.
Do you know these cities?: 1. velocity, 2. simplicity, 3. electricity, 4. audacity, 5. duplicity, 6. ferocity, 7. scarcity, 8. capacity, 9. sagacity, 10. elasticity, 11. felicity, 12. tenacity, 13. ethnicity, 14. veracity, 15. egocentricity, 16. reciprocity, 17. complicity, 18. domesticity, 19. publicity, 20. pugnacity.
Simple arithmetic: 1. cone, 2. bone, 3. gone, 4. done, 5. alone, 6. tone, 7. stone, 8. zone 9. clone, 10. throne, 11. cyclone, 12. telephone (phone), 13. no one, 14. none, 15. one.
A perfect ten puzzle: 1. content, 2. tendril, 3. listen, 4. tentative, 5. extend, 6. detente, 7. tennis, 8. soften, 9. tense, 10. sentence, 11. extensive, 12. enlighten, 13. English, 14. hasten, 15. tenant, 16. antenna, 17. attend Words within words Teacher: a, ace, ache, acre, act, arc, arch, are, art, at, ate, car, care, caret, cart, cat, cater, char, chart, chat, cheat, cheater, cheer, crate, create, each, ear, earth, eat, eater, era, ere, etch, ether, hare, hart, hat, hate, hear, heart, heat, heater, her, here, race, rat, rate, reach, react, retch, reteach, tar, tare, tea, teach, tear, tee, the, thee, there, three, trace, tree
Maine: ma, main, mine, man, mean, men, mane, me, am, a/an, aim, in, I, I'm, name
Tools: to, too, tool, Oslo, loo, loot, lo, lot, lots, lost, solo, so, soot, sot, Sol, slot, stool
Ninepins: starling, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in, I
Shrinking words: 1. plate, late (pate), ate (pat), at, a. 2. stand, sand, and (sad), an (ad), a. 3. waist, wait, wit, it, I. 4. stoop, stop, top (sop), to (so). 5. snore, sore, ore, or. 6. chaste, haste (caste), hate (cast), ate (hat, cat) at, a. 7. think, thin, tin, in, I.8. paint, pain (pint, pant), pan (pin, pit, pat), an (in, it, at), a (I). 9. bounce, ounce, once, one, on. 10. board, boar (bard), oar (bad), or (ad), a.11. bereft, beret, beet, bee (bet), be. 12. friend, fiend, find, fin, in, I.13. shingle, single, singe, sing (sine), sin, in, I.14. dinner, diner, dine, din, in, I.15. relate, elate, late, ate, at, a. 133 127
Word magic Westward ho!: 1. rope-rode/ripe-ride 2. rope-role-rule-mule 3. rope-ripe-wipe-wife-life 4. flour-floor-flood-blood-brood- broad-bread 5. meat-seat-seas-sees-seem-stem-stew 6. foot-soot-shot-shoe 7. east-past-pest-west
Alchemy: From nothing to a precious metal: 1. 0; 2. go; 3. God; 4. gold. From one to a bridge: 1. a; 2. an; 3. pan; 4. span. From myself to a span: 1. I; 2. I'd; 3. rid; 4. ride; 5. bride; 6. bridge Alternate route: 1. I;2. bi; 3. bid 4. bide; 5. bride; 6. bridge
Bird watch: bird-bind-band-bank-bark-lark;bird-bard-bare-bore-bone-done-dove Double puzzle challenges A pale pachyderm puzzle: 1. warm, 2. shade, 3. rails, 4. listen, 5. table, 6. express, 7. close, 8. trees, 9. simple, 10. anything, 11. mountains, 12. station, 13. argument, 14. buildings. ANSWER TO PUZZLE: white elephant
A four footed puzzle: 1. goat, 2. idea, 3. real, 4. a pal, 5. face, 6. fits, 7. exit. ANSWER TO PUZZLE: giraffe-tallest
Middle riddle: apple, balloon, bat, one, buttons, hat, pretzel, arrow, tee, key. ANSWER TO PUZZLE: plant a tree.
A national symbol: 1. bird, 2. yard, 3. dollar, 4. gold, 5. enormous, 6. nature, 7. highway, 8. emblem, 9. valley. ANSWER TO PUZZLE: bald eagle Sound/symbol surprises Fishy spelling: 1. fish, 2. taken, 3. envelope
s-f words: 1. sun-fun, 2. same-fame, 3. sound-found, 4. six-fix, 5. sit-fit, 6. sight-fight, 7. seed-feed, 8. sat-fat, 9. sell-fell,10. sail-fail, 11. seat-feat, 12. sly-fly.
Slight flight s/f game: 2c: six-fix, 3f: sail-fail, 4i: sound-found, 5g: sight-fight, 6j: same-fame, 7e: sit-fit, 8b: sat-fat, 9h: sun- fun, 10a: seed-feed, 11d: sly-fly, 12g: sought-fought
Fauna sauna s/f game: 1. silly filly, 2. sad fad, 3. sable fable, 4. faint saint, 5. slipper flipper, 6. sly fly,7. fleet sleet, 8. found sound, 9. sir fir,10. flat slat,11. slier flier (or slyer flyer), 12. slow flow.
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Graphic English Mind over matter: Reading from left to right, top to bottom: Mind over matter (mental power over physical power); Red Cross; Scrambled eggs; Just between you and me; A needle in a hay stack; High seas (away from land, in the midst of the ocean); Back to back; Sidewalk
Cornerstone: Reading from left to right, top to bottom: Cornerstone; I understand; As big as; Year after year; Working overtime; Time after time; Fall down; Side by side; Street corner; Broken heart; Falling star; Crossroads; Reading between the lines; Downtown; Three degrees below zero; Ice cube
More examples of graphic English: Reading from left to right, top to bottom: Warm welcome; Ship on the sea; American English; Broken glass; Barking dog; Hair standing on end; Engagement ring; Pot that has no tea; High speed; Low speed Word shapes Pyramids and diamonds: Simple Pyramid-1. a; 2. at; 3. sat; 4. star; 5. straw; 6. waster; 7. sweater Twin Pyramid (Left)-1. I; 2. it; 3. sit; 4. ties; 5. tires; 6. sister; 7. resists (Right)-1. I; 2. ti;3. its; 4. site; 5. tries; 6. resist; 7. sisters. Diamond-1. I; 2. pi; 3. pie; 4. ripe; 5. spire; 6. priest; 7. striped; 8. sprite; 9. strip; 10. trip; 11. pit; 12. it;13.1.
Word diamonds: 1. I, pi, pin, pain, paint, pint, pit, it, I. 2. 0, or, ore, sore, shore, shoe, she, he, H. 3. A, an, ran, rain,train, strain, stain, stan, tan, an, a. 4. B. be, bet, best, beast, east eat, at, a.
Word triangle: 1. be, 2. bee, 3. cube, 4. Nobel, 5. barber, 6. October, 7. robbed, 8. sober, 9. bear, 10. bed, 11. BE
Word circles: 1. teachers, 2. remember, 3. expected, 4. magnetic, 5. arranged
Word chain: 1. answer, 2. erase, 3. sea, 4. each, 5. chin, 6. inside, 7. dead, 8. added, 9 educate, 10. tear, 11. arrest, 12. stop, 13. opera, 14. ran. Coded language A code message: Too wise you are Too wise you be. I see you are Too wise for me.
The empty cupboard: Oh, I see you are empty!
Letter play: 1. EZ (easy), 2. MT (empty), 3. AT (eighty), 4. NE (any), 5. SA (essay), 6. IC (icy), 7. FX (effects), 8. B4 (before), 9. 10S (tennis), 10. 4C (foresee). 135 129
Fun with states: 1. Mass. (Massachusetts), 2. Wash. (Washington), 3. Me. (Maine), 4.111. (Illinois), 5. Pa. (Pennsylvania), 6.Miss. (Mississippi), 7. La. (Louisiana), 8. Alas. (Alaska), 9. Ark (Arkansas), 10. Ore. (Oregon).
Picture talk: soup; salad; potatoes; meat; beans; ice cream; coffee
National park symbols: 1.1; 2. i;3. f; 4. n; 5. d; 6. h; 7. a; 8. c; 9. e; 10.k; 11.m; 12.j; 13.g; 14. b. Homonyms and palindromes Spelling bee: 1. won, one; 2. to, two, too; 3. four, for, fore; 4. ate, eight; 5. threw, through; 6. see, sea; 7. so, sew, sow; 8. way, weigh; 9. wait, weight; 10. tied, tide; 11. not, knot; 12. heard, herd; 13. here, hear; 14.red, read; 15. rode, road; 16. seen, scene; 17. four sail, for sale; 18. wrote, rote; 19. blew, blue; 20. sun's rays, sonsraise
Parts of the body: 1. face, 2. hands, 3. teeth, 4. heart, 5. calf, 6. hair (hare), 7. eye (aye), 8. arms, 9. mouth, 10. nose(knows)
Alphabetic words: 1. B (be) or R (are); 2. C (sea); 3. A (a); 4. T (tea); 5. C (see); 6.1 (eye); 7. 0 (owe); 8. B(bee); 9. 0 (oh!); 10. Q (cue); 11. X (ex-); 12. Y (why); 13. P (pea); 14. T (tee); 15. D (Dee) and Y (Wye); 16. Q (cue); 17. J (jay); 18. U (ewe); 19. G (gee); Plural letters: 20. Es (ease); 21. Ys (wise); 22. Us (use); 23. Ts(tease); 24. Cs (seize); 25. Ns (ends); Three-letter-name words: 1. N-M-E (enemy); 2. B-U-T (beauty); Four-letter-name word: X-L-N-C (excellency); Five-letter-name word: X-P-D-N-C (expediency).
Reverse me: 1. top-pot, 2. raw-war, 3. part-trap, 4. saw-was, 5. ton-not, 6. wolf-flow; 7. ten-net; 8. dam-mad; 9. won-now; 10. mined-denim Word find Letter-words in hiding: 1. UFO, 2. RSVP, 3. ASAP, 4. VIP, 5. Ph.D, 6. MC, 7. BLT, 8. ID, 9. ESP, 10. TV, 11. TWA, 12. IOU, 13.DJ
World capitals: 1. London, 2. Canberra, 3. Athens, 4. Cairo, 5. Koror, 6. Kuala Lumpur, 7. Rome, 8. Caracas, 9. Teheran (Tehran), 10. Valletta, 11. Madrid, 12. Tokyo, 13. Lima, 14. Khartoum, 15. Managua, 16. Nairobi, 17. Brussels, 18. Ankara, 19. Buenos Aires, 20. Seoul, 21. Jakarta, 22. Mexico City, 23. Dacca (Dhaka), 24. Baghdad, 25. Oslo, 26. Ottawa, 27. Manila, 28. Dublin, 29. Lome, 30. Amman.
Irregular verbs: 1. began, 2. chose, 3. did, 4. ate, S. left, 6. ran, 7.1ay, 8. knew, 9. taught, 10. said, 11. stole, 12. thought, 13. went, 14. froze, 15. flew, 16. felt, 17. had, 18. hurt, 19. got, 20. hid, 21. let, 22. saw, 23. wore, 24. tore, 25. sat, 26. drank, 27. swam, 28. broke, 29. took, 30. sang
136 13
Word adventures Grand canyon: 2-letter words: ad, an, do, go, no, on, or. 3-letter words: and,any, arc, cad, can, car, cod, con, coy, cry, day, dog, don, dry, gad, gar, gay, god, nag, nay, nod, nog, nor,oar, rag, ran, ray, roc, rod, yon. 4-letter words: anon, card, cord, corn, crag, darn, dory, drag, dray, goad, gory,gray, orgy, racy, rang, road, roan, yard, yarn, yond. 5-letter words: angry, annoy, argon, candy, canny, canon,cargo, corny, crony, groan, organ, rayon. 6-letter words: angora, canard, canary, candor, cannon, cranny, crayon, dacron, dragon.
Mountaineering: 1-letter words: a, I. 2-letter words: am, an, as, at, in, is, it,no, on, so, to, us. 3-letter words: aim, ait, ant, inn, ion, man, mat, not, nun, nut, oat, out, sin, sit, son, sum,sun, tan, tin, ton, tun. 4-letter words: anon, atom, aunt, into, main, mast, mint, mist, moan, moat, most, must, noun, omit, oust, suit, stun,tuna, unit, unto. 5-letter words: anion, mason, moist, mount, saint, satin, snout, stain, union,unman. 6-letter words: amount, animus, anoint, inmost, nation, suntan.
Twice around the Isle: 1. First Lap: a. bear-bare, b. too-two, c. dear-deer, d. here-hear,e. so-sew, f. seen-scene, g. led-lead, h. read-red, i. sale-sail, j. weight-wait, k. know-no, 1. ate-eight,m. allowed-aloud, n. hour-our, o. guessed- guest, p. won-one, q. knew-new, r. buy-by. 2. Second Lap: a. chews-choose, b. or-oar, c. toe-tow, d. principal-principle,e. inn-in, f. blew-blue, g. rain-reign, h. right-write, i. rode-road, j. air-heir, k. rose-rows, 1. male-mail, m. hole-whole,n. sum- some, o. bee-be, p. seas-seize, q. herd-heard, r. knot-not.
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Animal words: I.1. e; 2.1; 3. o; 4. j;5. f; 6. d; 7. m; 8. b; 9. k; 10.n; 11.c; 12. a; 13.i; 14.h; 15.g; II.1. f; 2. e; 3. g; 4. c; 5. b; 6. a; 7. d.
Fun time: a. high time (almost too late; fully time), b. time flies (time passes very quickly), c. once upon a time (an indefinite time in the past; a traditional beginning of children's fairy tales), d. split second (an instant; almost no time at all; a flash), e. day in, day out (everyday without fail; continuously), f. serve time (to spend time in prison), g. a stitch in time (a repair made early enough to avoid further trouble. In sewing, a stitch is a single completed loop of a threaded needle through cloth.), h. rush hour (a time of day when traffic is very heavy because people are going to or returning from their places of work).
Idiomatic Antonyms: I.1. all; 2. no; 3. true; 4. on; 5. new; 6. young; 7. more; 8. small. II.1. go; 2. found; 3. downs; 4. don'ts; 5. foe; 6. worse; 7. that; 8. miss; 9. hell; 10. lose (Initial letters spell ANTONYMS.) section 4 No answers are required for the Limmericks section. section 5 Listening to jokes and riddles: Answers are given in the notes that follow the transcript of the audio recording.
More jokes and riddles: The future; Because it isn't right; Wet; You have just had a March of 31 days; Your name; Rain; Are you asleep? The letter g.
Time for a smile: 6. item, time, mite, emit
Joke time/Brain teasers/Silly questions: Answers are given in the text.
Rhyming words: 1. Pretty kitty, 2. Rare chair, 3. Funny bunny, 4. Mad lad, 5. Cross boss, 6. Shy fly,7. Big pig, 8. Wild child, 9. Glad dad, 10. Loud crowd
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Riddle rattle: I.a. starrats; b. limemile (A mile is about 1.6 kms. Actually, a person can walk two or three miles in an hour.); c. leappeal; d. goattoga II. a. Every evening Ernest earned eighteen cents exceedingly easily. b. There are three errors in this sentence.
Riddle metaphors: 1.a bed, 2. footsteps 3. water, 4. an icicle, 5. a telephone, 6. a towel, 7. a hole, 8. a squirrel, 9. our age, 10. fire
section 6: puzzle stories 1. Mr. Jones: the person who called him was the man in the room next door, and the reason the man telephoned him was that Mr. Jones had been snoring and so disturbing the man. As soon as Mr. Jones said "Hello," the man next door realized that he was awake and that was all that he wanted.
2. Man in the Bar: The man had hiccups.
3. Liars and Truth-tellers: The first man must have been a Truth-teller, because if he really was a Truth teller, he would have told the truth and admitted it, and if he was a Liar, he would have told a lie and said that he was a Truth-teller. The second man, then, must have told the truth when he said that the first man said he was a Truth-teller. Therefore he himself was a Truth-teller. His entire statement was therefore true, so the first man must have been in fact a Truth-teller. The third man, who said that the second man was a Liar, is obviously not telling the truth. Therefore he is a Liar.
4. The Dollar Bills: She was short by $4.00. She had read the number upside down. The number was 86.
5. The Crossing: Four trips. First he takes the duck across the river, leaving the dog alone with the corn. Then after returning, he takes the dog over and brings back the duck. Then he takes the corn across and leaves it with the dog, coming back for the duck which he takes over last of all.
6. The cat in the Well: It took the cat thirty-one minutes. In the first two minutes the cat climbed one foot. Continuing this way for thirty minutes, the cat had climbed fifteen feet. In the next minute the cat climbed up the remaining three feet and so was out of the well.
7. The Captured Traveler: The traveler said: "I will die by fire." If the chief decided that this statement was a true one, the traveler would be executed by shooting. But that would make the statement false, and then the traveler would be doomed to die by fire. But such an execution would make the statement true, and then he would have to be shot instead. The only way out of this dilemma was to let the clever traveler go free. 135
8. Crossing the Bridge: Tom was a juggler. He juggled the pineapples while he crossed the bridge.
9. The Two Students: They were two of a set of triplets.
10. How Can It Be?: He was bald.
11. A Boy and Girl: The boy has black hair and the girl has red hair. The statement "At least one of them is not telling the truth" means that one or more is not telling the truth. That is either the first one or the second one is not telling the truthor both are not. If the first one is not telling the truth, then the first speaker is in truth a girl. Since the opening sentence says there is a boy and a girl," if the first speaker is in truth a girl, then the second speaker must be a boy. We arrive at the same result if we begin with the assumption that the second speaker is not telling truth. The fact is that, in accordance with the given information, if either one of them is not telling the truth, the other isn't either.
12. Spring Walk: It took the man the same length of time to go in a clockwise direction or in a counter-clockwise direction. One hour and twenty minutes is the same as eighty minutes.
13. Marriage or Death: The boy chose one of the pieces of paper and immediately swallowed it. Then he said that the remaining piece of paper (the one he didn't choose) should be read. Since (as he knew) it would contain the word DEATH, the piece he had chosen must (according to the king's stated rules) have said MARRIAGE. The king could not deny this without exposing his dark and devious plot.
14. Bottle of Water: You begin with eight liters of water in the bottle; the two smaller containers are empty. Step 1: Pour water into the five-liter container until it is full; this will leave three liters in the eight-liter bottle. Step 2: Pour water from the five-liter container into the three-liter container until the latter is full; this will leave two liters in the five- liter container. You now have three liters in the biggest container, two liters in the middle container, and three liters in the smallest container. Step 3: Pour the three liters out of the smallest container into the biggest container. You now have six liters in the biggest container, two liters in the middle container, and nothing in the smallest container. Step 4: Pour the two liters from the middle container into the smallest container. You now have six liters in the largest container, nothing in the middle container, and two liters in the smallest container. Step 5: Pour water from the largest container into the middle container until the latter is full. This will leave one liter in the largest container, five liters in the middle container, and two liters in the smallest container. Step 6: Pour water from the middle container into the smallest container. (Since the latter already contains two liters, it will take only one liter to fill it.) This leaves four liters in the middle container, three liters in the smallest container, and one liter in the largest container. Step 7: Pour the three liters from the smallest container into the largest container, which will then contain four liters. You now have four liters in the large (eight-liter) bottle and four liters in the five-liter container. sections 7 and 8 These sections do not require an answer key. Use the audiocassette for a recorded presentation of the material. 42 Z7) CD
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